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Tti6 Farmers Ml ol L6ona, 

LeOHA, KANSAS. 

CAPITAL, $10,000.00 

— establisiip:d 1895. 



OFFICERS (^I^D DIRECTORS: 



^ ^ I 

Transacts a general Banking business. ^ 

t^ 

We issue our own drafts payable in all the principal cities ^ 

of the United States and Europe. 5 

Every accommodation consistent with safe and sound bank- ^ 

ing will be accorded our patrons. ^^ 

Our past record of ten years is our guarantee of fair g 

treatment in the future. ^ 



i 

g 

.J. D. HAZEN, GEO. KIiMiMEL, $ 

President. Vice President. ^ 

A. O. DELANEY, Cashier. | 

OLELARSEN, P. M. LEON HARD. | 



?«iKS45rHrH>^;}i>tti>i't^fi}ftr} i:^^^i'^l-it^i'HKJ«^>!K}m:K:Vi}i.UH:v^;^ •i::>n^i^{J{K>i:fiK}iJ{KKJj;? 



I TkE OLP RELlApLE 55TORE. 

I J. r. SEVERIN, 

I DBALER:IN 

^ ® ai|(i Produce, "^ 

i. .ill. BGHT^Gn/K, KANSAS. .ill. .ill. 

Here may always be found a full and complete 

LINE OF DRY GOODS AND GROCERIES. 

Reasonable prices prevail the year round. No spurts and 
starts — no dodges or baits — just a business way of doing 
business. My goods are reliable and my prices are right. 

J. C. fILBEKS, 

proprip:tor of the 



1 BENDM § LIVERY I BARN. 1 

Good Rigs and Prompt Service. 

YOU'LL NOT MISS THE CARS 

When you ride with me, 
BECAUSE— 

WHEN j|C I 

I /^^ GO 

00 ^^ HIKING! I 

PKOnPT ATTSHTIGH PAli:? TO JPRAYIHG l 



Ji^^^KKJ^!K}{KKXJa^XhtHKH5tKKKKKKK» 



THE BANK OF DENTON, I 

DENTON, KANSAS. 

Originally chartered with $5,000.00 Capital Stock on Aug- 
ust 27, 1894. September 7, the same year, charter amended and 
Capital increased to $6,000.00. January 3, 1901, Capital Stock 
was farther increased to $8000.00, and again on March 7, 1905 
to $10,000.00. 

The Bank opened for business October 2, 1894. 

George Denton, its first president served from October, 18- 
94 to April 1902, the time of his death. William Denton was 
elected to fill the vacancy and has served up to the present time. 

S. O. Harpster has been its cashier since its organization. 

The Bank of Denton does a general banking business and 
steadily increased in volume of business and in capacity to serve 
its patrons. No banking institution in this vicinity has a stead- 
ier, evener business than the Bank of Denton. 

Officers and Directors. 

William Denton, President, James Miller. Vice President. 
John J. Alt, Sec, S. O. Harpster, Cashier, J. B. Roberts. 



OflUcial statement issued August 25, 1905; 



RESOUKCES. 

Loans and discounts, $24,685 2] 



Loans on real estate 
Bank building 
Furniture and fixtures 
Expense account 
Bonds and warrants 
Cash and Sight ex- 
change legal res. 



5,958 65 
2,000 00 
1,000 00 
1,053 72 
10,255 23 

15,138 94 



LIABILITIES. 

Cap. stock paid in $10,000 00 
Undivided profits, - 88 15 

Interest 1,417 95 

Exchange 223 04 

Individual deposits 43,406 61 
Time deposits draw- 
ing less than 6 pr c. 4,956 00 



Total 



$60,091 75 



Total 



$60,091 75 



a 



-s we SOLICIT YOUR BUSTWeSS. fe- I 

Money to loan on real estate on best terms and lowest rates. i 
\ NOTARY AT BANK. \ 



iv >rvn<''-i vrvTMVs "w i-rw vt vs vi W^urv-rvrvrvi ~v-rv( ^/O-i vrvrvo-i vfvrvo-i vrvrv-( vt >n~r vtm VTm >./■<>? vrw t-i vrwT-ri-t a 

I CUMMINGS & ELLIOTT, i 

i BUYERS AND SHIPPERS OF i 



t? 



S LEONA ADVERTISING. 



C. N. WILLIS 5 CO., 

—DEALERS IN— 

LyinDGF, UatH, Sasti, Doors, Ulme, 

HAIR, CEMENT, COAL, ETC. 



K 



^ "^ CaHte, Hogs ai|«l ilorses, »» 

i DENTON .... KANSAS. 

f CilftS. MMRRftY. I 

I Xi^SHTOH, KANSAS. | 

9 Dry Lroods, Groceries. Shoes, Hats, Queeusware, Notions and & 

i GENERAL FURNISHING GOODS. I 






2:^ 



I LGONA. KANSAS. | 

I J. RITTERBUSH, g g g g g g | 

V Dealer in "tz 



- GENERAL - MERCHANDISE. « 

LEONA, KANSAS. t 

OLDEST ESTABLISHED BUSINESS IN LEONA. J 

OMR MOTTO: ^ 

Honest Goods, Honest Prices, and Fair Dealing. ^ 

L. RlCKeNBACH. Manager. 5 



2:? 






be.0 N.H ft K.D BR OTti.eR.S, 



DRUGGISTS 



L6ona i^^^5.^i Kansas. 



Pr. J. I. tlarileij, 

^ PHYSICTAH AHP SURGSOH. s- 

< DISPEI^SII^G DRUGGIST, ^ 

Leona, ..... Kansas. 





E. A. KINSLEY, 




SATISFACTORY WORK AT 



55: -I^^IH-J^K^^KKJiS^KJ^JiJ^KHKJiCs S 



g KEEP A FULL AND FRESH SUPPLY OF ^ 

I DRUGS, MEDICINES, PAINTS. AND OILS. | 

S ALSO I 

I A FLGASme ARRAY OF | 

^ Toiled; Articles ai|^ Faiicy Goodis. ^ 

5 Every visitor tinds within, Everytliing new and neat as a pin. ^ 



U 



DO IT NOW 

Write us a card saying you would like to 
liavi the EMPIRE CREAM SEPARATOR 

brought to your house for free trial. It 
makes the nu.st dollars for you— Costs you *™^^lf~ g 
nothing to cry it — Sold for cash or on easy S!h i% 

payments. E. A. BENSON, Agt.,Leona,Ks. "^t^-* % 



2U 

>:^ , _^^ rf ^smsp^/^^ff^i^nKm ^^ 

^ —AND— iMM|ggfg |a^pi^||jBM[ I 

% Wagon Worker 

t^ LEONA, KANSAS. ___^^ 



C5 



5^ REASONABLE PRICES. 

,■ r^n-'-- >■■■:■■■■■. V ;.■. V w w- V}- V-1 v. t^ T >IM M J''. ^'^l^^VM7'VJ'l,^V.^"•.>''t^^^■0<•:'^M,^•^.M.^-^)-yv''U'>■ '"■-.'■■' ^^ 

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I LEI^ IIOIIEIITS5 

i 

I —DEALER IN— 

I WaooFis, BuQ0i6s, Tinware, Stoves, 

i Hardware, riiiiips and Windmills, 

I AND FIRST CLASS IMPLEMENTS OF ALL KINDS. 

I JPSKTCN KANSAS. 

I W. H. PENNEBAKER, 

g DENTON ..... KANSAS. 

I PSALSK TH 

I STAPLE AND FANCY DRY GOODS, 

^ Boots, Shoes, 

^^ Hats, Caps, 

I ALSO lLAi::>ieS AHP> GSKTS FUKHISHIHG ^ 

g GOOJ:^S. HOTTOHS '^"<l TKWWNGS. | 

I QUEENSWARE and FURNITURE. | 

^ Orders taken for Gents Tailor made Cloth ine. U 



^^ J, E- STEPP, M- p., 

S PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON, 



Groceries, Flour and Feed. 



DENTON, KANSAS. 



S. L. DENTON, 

Proprietor of the 

City Meat lyiaTkct, 

DENTON ..... KANSAS. 



t^ 






I FBRWERS' STATE BflHK, I 

I WATHENA, KANSAS. | 

xt ■ zCj 



CAPITAL - - - - . ^10,000 g 

SURPLUS, • 1,000 I 

^< 

A stronff, safe, and conservative Bank. it< 

... aX 

Always willing to advise and assist our patrons. p. 

Regard all business transactions as strictlv confidential, and 4-' 

accord every accommodation consistent with sate banking. t^ 

Call your attention to our substantial backing by our di- h 

rectors and stockholders. ^ 



:P>lKBCTOKS: 
L. C. Burns, A. O. Delaney, L. A. Libel, Aug. jVliller, 



P. A. Pettis, J. H. Sallee, J. L. Browne. ^ 



STOCKHOLPSKS: g 

L. C. Burns, Peter 3Ianvil]e, .lolin W. Lehman, i^ 

A. (). Delaney, W, H. Manville, Lucas Studcr, g 
L. A. Libel. ' W. J. Canter, J. L. Studer, g 
Mrs. Aug. Miller, Jacob Uroh, B. V. Wasser. t^ 
Nicholas Bohr, J. Lew Browne, Joseph Schoenfeider, ^ 
F. C. Foley, Adam Groh, James R. McPherson, g 
Martin Magg, N.J. >halz, Frank Libel, g 
J. H. Sallee, Geo. M. Gramer, Andrew Ramsel, 

B. Schmille, Albert Weigant. 



s? 



^ YOUR BUSINESS RESPECTFULLY SOLICITED 



2CJ 



I 1. 8. PINYERD, 

g CONTI^ACTOR ai|i piJlLpER, 

I PGHTOH. KANSAS. 

I (AN BUILD IT FOR YOU, WHETHER IT BE 

i\ FMLik^^ OR ft PbftY ttftbb. 

fl Cottage Of a Castle, 

By careful calculations, and by sawing to the line he 

SAVES YOU MONEY BY SAVING LUMBER 



Tell him what you want, and he 
will tell you the cost and the 
day he will have it ready for you. 

And when he turns the key over to you, there will 
be the satisfaction of having things right — the way 
you wanted them — and that's happiness in itself. 



Ygs, neioHDor, | 

IF YOU ARE GOING TO BUILD. g 

PiNyERDistiisMftNtopiaiiwiiri. i 




Original Owner of Doniphan County Lands. 



OONIPHflU COUNTY 
HISTORY. 



A RECORD OF THE HAPPENINGS OF 
HALF A HUNDRED YEARS. 

BY 

p. L. GRAY. 



Copyright 1905, by P. L. Gray. 



Tke I^oycrort Press, 

1905. 



LIBRARY ot CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

DEC 5 1905 

Copyright Entry 
cuss/ ex. XXC. No. 

roLS ^ ^6 

COPY 8. 



•J 4 Gel 



TO THE MEMORY OF 

THS COUNTY'S PIONGGRS, 
LIVING AND DEAD, 

Iiv grateful reco^ivilioi\ oF tKeir heroic services 

iiv traivsFornvirv^ a saVa^e Wilderness 

irvto a (garden of peace ai\d plenty, 

This Sook is respectFally 

BY 

THE AUTHOR. 




FictaraSectioR. 

[Pages 75-77-84-85-88 to 112J 

I A. W. Themanson | 

g Harry Mailler fl. 

g Tobias Larson ^ 

i Dr. W. B. (Jampbell | 

I r>r. R. 8. Dinsmore- I 

I John P. Johnson f 

^^ Ed. Heeney p 

I ^yrusLeland, Jr., iS64andl904 I' 

5^ V\m. I. Stuart ' & 

I ^- H. H. Curtis g 

p James Gallagher g 

I ^'ol. A. G. Ege I 

g ^^s. Jane Spencer . f 

g The Noble Family ' ^ 

g Jacob Brenner J? 

I *John W. Forman § 

I X. K. Stout ^ 

I Thomas W. Langan ' f 

I Judge Nathan Price # 

I John J. Baker . f 

4 ^Sol. JVliller S 

H. J. Calnan g 

Fr. Thomas Bartl, O. 8 B S 

Fr. Matthew Bradley, (). s' B -^ 

Bendena School * • • g 

St. Benedict's Church I 

Wendell Braun and wife g 
Pat. Kirwan and grandson 



H^J 



?«-— «K«««^ 



Gmrs BOIilPHRN COUNTY HISTORY. 



CHAPTER I. 
TOWN /KHTD TOWNSHIP HISTORY. 



WAYNE TOWNSHIP. 

The name of the township was chosen 
l>y A. H. Dunning, one of the first coun- 
ty commissioners, who wished to assist 
in perpetuating the memory of a great 
Revolutionary hero. The township was 
organized on September 1, 1855, together 
with four other townships. It has its 
share of the rough land which Nature 
gave to Doniphan county; nevertheless, I 
the land has been utili>ced for orchard I 
and vineyard and pasture, and has con- 1 
tributed largely to the wealth of the | 
«-.ounty. Since its organization two 
changes have been made in its boundary 
lines, the first being made in October, 
1856, to admit Marion into the sisterhood 
of townships; the second in June, 1859, 
which left it with the present bounda- 



ries. The land is drained by three princi- 
pal streams-Independence, Rock, and 
Brush creeks. 

FRAGMENTS. 

A few of the very first settlers: In 
1852, J. F^ Forman and Josephus Utt; 
in 1854, J. W. Forman, B. fS. Whorton, 
John Stanliff, Dr. R. H. Hereford and 
John Tracy; in 1855-6, William Shaw, 
(ieo. Waller, Dr. Hudnall, David Lee, 
I Dick Vest, Col. A. G. Ege, Silas Loyd,' 
I ^ . K. Leddington and John Harding. 

I Tiie first marriage ceremony was per- 
formed by Rev. J. Devorse of RushviUe, 
Mo., the contracting parties being Dr. 
Hereford and Amanda Tracy. The cere- 
mony was performed in 1854, at the home 
of the bride's father on Rock creek, near 
the present site of Brenner. It is claimed 
for this man that he was the first physi- 



12 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



cian in the township as well as the tirst 
man to patronize the preacher by employ- 
ing him to tie the Gordian knot of matri- 
mony. The skill of this pioneer doctor 
is attested to by the fact that some of 
those who were once his patients are still 
livina in good health in the county. 

In the summer of 1855, a daughter was 
born into the family of Dick Vest. This 
was perhaps the tirst while child born in 
the township. 

In the winter of 1854-5, a sister-in-law 
of John Stanliff's was burned to death at 
the IStanlift" home on Rock creek, south of 
the preeent site of Brenner. 

A young teacher named lleartly taught 
a four months' term of subscription 
school on a small tributary of Rock creek 
about two miles south of the present lo- 
cation of Brenner, during the sunnr.er of 
1857. He received §^20 a month for his 
services, and we'll venture to assert that 
his pupils who are still living, remember 
to this day just what the teacher said, 
and done, and wore. 



Doniphan. 



In 1852, Josephus Utt, agent for the 
Kickapoo Indians, erected a hut near the 
river bank on what now is the townsite 
of Doniplian. Two years later, on No- 
vember 11, 1854, the organizers of the 
Doniphan Town Company met at St. 
Joseph, Mo., at which time and place of- 
ficers of the company were elected. Ear- 
ly in the spring of the following year a 
xtownsite was surveyed by J. F. Forman, 
and building began at once. 

One of the apparent advantages of the 



place as a townsite was the excellent steam- 
boat landing, and the place was favorably 
known up and down the river by boat- 
men as the ideal place to land. The tirst 
wave of genuine prosperity to strike tiie 
new town came early in 1857, when the [, 
o-overnment land office was located there; 
but the wave subsided a year later, when 
the land office was removed to Kickapoo. 
The removal of the land office was the 
beginning of the rapid decline of the 
town. Late in the '60s the business men 
began to desert, one by one, many going j 
to Atchison, whose star had been for 
some time in its ascendency, and the once) 
prosperous town settled down to the 
quiet of a village. Later it was aban- 
doned by the railroad, which was driven 
out by the washing of the river. 

The following from Redpath's Hand- 
book to Kansas Territory, published in 
1859, i)resents the optomistic view of the 
early prophet and citizen: 

-Doniphan, it is admitted by every') 
OTie, has the best rock-bound landing, and 
the best townsite on the Missouri river 
::i)\ where above Si. Louis. It has run- 
ning through it a tine stream of water, 
which by a trilling outlay which will 
soon be expended, can be made to flow 
through live of the principal streets. A 
wealthy company has been chartered for 
the construction of a railroad for St. 
Joseph, through Doniphan, for Topeka, 
connecting the Kansas and Missouri riv- 
ers. The stock is subscribed— ten per 
cent paid in. That part of it from St. 
Joseph to Doniphan will be completed as 
soon as the connection is made with Han- 
nibal. Lots can be purchased at Doni- 




CHIEF KENNEKUK. 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



13 



phan on more liberal terms than at any 
other town on the Missouri. We say to 
the emigrant, come to Doniphan; believ- 
ing as we do, that it is destined to be 
the great emporium of the upper Mis- 
souri. The population is about one 
thousand." 

FBAGMEXTS. 

The first lawyer was Colonel D. M. 
Johnson, who afterwards located in Troy. 

S. N. Small wood is said to have been 
the first wagonmaker, and it was also 
said of him that he was kept so busy that 
he found little time to talk politics. One 
or two men lost their lives here in the 
early days because they had time to talk 
politics. 

Patrick Laughlin was the first to make 
tin pans and coffee pots for the pioneer 
housewife. 

Wm. Beauchamp. the first blacksmith, 
was welcomed by the town and country, 
as a blacksmith shop in those days was of 
great importance. 

At the first sale of town lots in Doni- 
phan, April 15. 1855, as high as #2,000 
was paid for a single lot. The buyer of 
this lot on taking a backward look from 
toilay must be tilled with regret that he 
did not invest his money in a few farms in 
the country instead of sinking his money 
in the town. 

The first religious services were con- 
ducted by a Baptist minister named An- 
derson, in 1855. 

Barney O'Driscoll was the proprietor 
of the first hotel, the Doniphan House, 
built in the winter of 1855-6. 



The Constitutionalist, not only the first 
paper in the town, but also the first in 
the county, was starte<i in 1855. by Thos. 
J. Key, a pro-slavery Democrat. 

The town was named for General Alex- 
ander William Doniphan, of Mexican war 
fame, and rightly proud of the name has 
she ever been. 

J. F. Formau surveyed ihe townsite 
early in 1855, receiving in payment for 
his services some choice town lots. He 
erected the first building innuediately af- - 
ter the survey, the first store being opened 
by him. 

March 3. 1855. a postofHce was estab- 
lished with John Forman as postmaster. 

The first election was held in October, 
1855. J. A. Vanarsdale and Wm. Shaw 
were elected justices, and Joshua Saun- 
ders was elected constable. 

In the spring of 1855. Samuel Collins 
set up the first saw mill. In November 
of the same year he was killed in a polit- 
ical quarrel. 

The first school was taught by Mrs. D. 
Frank in a log cabin, during the summer 
of 185t). 

St. John's Catholic church was built in 
1857, and was in charge of Father Au- 
gustin Wirth, O. S. B. 

In 1857. James H. Lane was made pres- 
ident of the town company. The town 
at that time had fully 1,000 inhabitants, 
while Atchison had less than 200. 

Henry Latham, a twin brother of Hiram 
Latham, was shot and killed on the 
street late in the year of 1857, by a man 



14 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



named Frank McVey. Latham was walk- 
ing up the street with a Sharp's rifle. 

. George A. Cutler was a pioneer physi- 
cian. Dr. Welsh was the second to lo- 
cate in April, 1857. 

May to, 1857, a Methpdist Episcopal 
church was organized by Kev. B. F, 
Bowman. 

A company of Free . State men called 
the "Crusadejrs" was organized at Doni- 
phan, in January, 1J53,. to hold against 
Dunning's "Tigers". 

The bodies of four d^ad men were tak- 
en from the river at Doniplian. during the 
.first week in August, 1858. 

Arcana Lodge, No. 31. A. F. & A. M.. 

was organized December 'J9, 1858. 

Political rivalry caused the removal of 
the Government Laud Ollice to Kicka- 
poo in 1859. 

In 1860, the St. C harlcs , Hot^l, built 
in 1857, w;as destroyed by tire. 

A young girl named Missouri Doolev 
was shot liy a guard one night along in 
the early "(ji>s. who mistook her for a 
Mian, the girl being attired in man's 
clothes. This was about the time that 
Cleveland's gang of outlaws robbed A. B. 
Symns' store. Many of the business 
houses were guarded every night for a 
whole season. 

In 1864, Doniphan was regarded as 
the best grain market on the Missouri 
river. 

In 1867, Adam Brenner built an eleva- 
tor with a capacity of 40,000 bushels, at 
a cost of S!16,000. In 1872, it was de- 



stroyed by tire, together with its con- 
tents, a large amount of grain. There 
was an insurance of only $3,000 on it. 

The Doniphan House, after many 
changes of proprietors, was burned in 
the fall of 1868. 

In 1869, George Brenner planted the 
tirst live acres of the famous Belleview 
vineyard. 

Doniphan Chapter, No. 13, K. A. M.. 
was organized October 17, 1869. 

A large two-story brick building was 
erected by Adam Brenner in 1869, to ac- 
commodate liis wine interests. The build- 
ing was 65x44 feet, with a large cellar. 
There was storage room for 9,000 gallons 
of wine. The great Brenner vineyards, 
famous all over the West, are situated 
just outside the town limits. 

The construction train on the Atchison 
& Nebraska railroad crossed Independ- 
ence creek on Tuesday. This was the 
iirst entrance of the cars into Doniphan 
county on this road. A force of about 
one hundred men are at work in the track 
laying departnuMit, and they are pushing 
things lively.— Reporter, October 6. 1870. 

In 1871, there were 228 families in 
Doniphan. The poplation was 1,020. 
Fifty-three girls and twenty-eight boys 
were born therv that year. We ofter the 
suggestion that all those babies that are 
still living, meet and hold a big reunion 
in the town of their birth. 

About the year 1880. a diamond drill 
was sunk by a company prospecting for 
coal. The drill went down 1,000 feet, 
but no encouragina: discovery was made. 



GKAYS DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



15 



That there is both coal and gas in the 
earth beneath I>oniphan cannot be doubt- 
ed. In the winter, skaters on Doniphan 
lake cut holes in the ice and the gas that 
escape* trom the holes when ignited 
bams with a constant blase. 

The Doniphan Dramatic Clnb was or- 
ganized in ISSu. The Club gave its en- 
tertainments in Brenner's hall. A. Low. 
who was stage manager, painted the 
si-enes and built the stage. The Club 
had twenty members. Two years later 
the Young Folks" Liteniry Society was 
organized and became a friendly rival uf 
the Dramatic Club. 

Anton Braun. who is still a resident 
and business man of the town, began bus- 
iness here in IS So, He has been a resi- 
dent of the county thirty-tire years. For 
eight years he has been jh stmaster. Mr. 
Braun has shown himself truly grateful 
for the liberal patron;ige reeeiTe<J from 
iiis wide circle of friends, and shows th.it 
he has deserveti all that has been given 
liim. He ha« been a continuous and suc- 
cessful advertiser, one who has made 
himself j.»opular with the public seeking 
good goods and cx)urteous treatment. It 
is a noticeable fact that at this day Mr. 
Braun sells as cheaply as any other mer- 
chant in any part of the county. He has 
to compete with Atchison prices, but is 
in a p<^sition to do so. as he ha* shown 
by his success. 

D. Cavender brought to this office yes- 
terday a specimen of coal struck at Doni- 
phan last Thursday (Feb. 10, 1887). It 
looks like coal, burns like coal and is coal . 
A piece of it thrown into the tire bums 
freelv, and Mr. Cavender savs that the 



Doniphan blacksmiths have tested it and 
pronounced it equal to anybody's coal. 
The vein is nine and a half inches thick 
and lies ten feet below the surface. 
Down the hill a short distance it crops 
out in the road. This cropping, and the 
fact that several years ago. when the ice 
broke up and formed a tremendous gorge, 
great blocks^ of coal were thrown up ou 
the bank from the bottom of the river. 
led Mr. Cavender to sink a prospect hole 
ou his place. The ground lies by the 
river and is the old Ferry site. The shaft 
is abt'Ut 125 yards from the river. A 
prosj»ect drift has been started on the 
discovery and, in a few days, the face of 
the vein will l;»e fully develoj>ed. It Ls 
not } roi.>osed. however, to stop at this 
vein. The shaft will be sunk deeper. 
Mr. Cavender being contident that there 
is more coal where the pieces that were 
thrown up by the ice came from, and he 
expects to strike the lower run at a depth 
of To or 100 feet. A joint stock com|.»a- 
ny with sufficient capital will be organ- 
ized, and machinery ptirchaiied to pros- 
pect the ground thoroughly. Mr. C. 
thinks the small vein will pay to work, 
but does not expect it to yield in very 
large quantities. The find very greatly 
encourages the people of the old town, 
and the further prosecution of the work 
will be watched with interest.— Atchison 
Champion. 

The once glorious old town has had 
seven newsp«aj>ers. The Constitutional- 
ist, established in 1S56. by Thomas J. 
Key. lived about two years: The Crusad- 
er of Freedom, established by James 
Redpath. in ISoS, lived only a few 



16 



GKAY'S DOISIPIIAN COUKTY HISTORY 



months; The Post, established by the 
Reese Brothers, in 1860, lived about a 
year; The Democrat, established by J. J. 
Ricketts, in 1871, died within the year; 
The Herald, established by the Crook 
Brothers, in May, 1872, lived only a few 
weeks; 'i'he Is'ews, established in 1882, 
by Dr. Welsh & Son, survived t>nly six 
months; The Bible Investigator, estab- 
lished by Wra. Kirby, 1881, lasted for a 
short time only, and no other newspaper 
has since been attempted in the town. 

Doniphan postoHice was opened Marcli 
3, 1855, with John W. Forman as post- 
master. He held it but a short time 
when he turned the otKce over to Geo. 
Reese, now of St. Joseph, who was run- 
ning a paper in Doniphan at the time. 
Mr. Reese held the office until 1859, 
when N. Werner was appointed. Mr. 
Werner held the office from 1859 to 1862, 
when Dr. Benjamin was appointed. He 
had it one year when it was returned to 
Mr. Werner, this being 1863. During 
the year Mr. Werner died and his wife 
was appointed. Slie was postmaster the 
rest of the year 1863, and up to January 
1, 1870. In May, Mrs. Werner and 
Chas. R. Kuchs were married and Mr. 
Kuchs was appointed postmaster and en- 
tered the office as postmaster June 1, 
1870, and held it until April 1, 1871, 
when Howard Sale was appointed. He 
served until November 1, 1875, when he 
returned it to Mr. Kuchs, wlio held it 
from November 1, 1875, until October 1, 
1885, when he was followed by Charles 
Brenner. Mr. Brenner held the office 
till some time in 1887, when Ed Breuer 
was appointed and served until May 1, 



1889, when it was again returned to the 
careful care of Chas. R. Kuchs. Mr. 
Kuchs served until October 1, 1894. Ed 
Breuer came next and served until May, 
1897. Then came Anton Braun, who is 
holding the office today. This is the 
chronological account of the Doniphan 
postoffice up to date. We may add that 
when the postoffice at Doniphan was first 
opened mail was carried to the town by 
Star route from Atchison to Wathena un- 
til some time in 1870, when it was trans- 
fered to the Atchison-Falls City route 
and carried by stage by a man named 
Finch until January 3, 1871, when the 
A. & N. railroad brought its first mail 
into the town. During the great flood 
of 1881, the railroad was washed away 
and the company decided to abandon the 
Doniphan road bed and moved their track 
down the valley two miles west, and lo- 
cated a station which they called Doni- 
phan Station. In the spring of 1882, 
they began to run their trains on the new 
route and have so continued. Still the 
mail comes to old Doniphan via the 
Station . 

One of the early doctors of the city 
dropped a hint that he would give |10 
for a good, sound skeleton of a man. 
Two young men, who loved to dance, 
and who needed money to pay the fid- 
dler, made a moonlight visit to the bluffs 
near town, where there were many Indi- 
an graves. Digging out a skeleton of 
fine proportions, they took it to the 
river, fastened it to a boat with a rope 
and left it to drag in the water as they 
paddled up and down stream until the 
bones were washed clean. Delivering 



GKAV'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



IV 



the skeleton to the doctor, the young 
men received $5 each, and there was a 
romping big dance the next night. 

The first mail train arrived January 3, 
1871, on the Atchison & JS'ebraska rail- 
road, and there was much rejoicing. 

The Doniphan Herald, May, 1872, 
thus tells of a visit to the wine cellars of 
this place: "We visited the wine cellars 
jxi the Brenners this week, and to say 
that we enjoyed the sparkling fluid from 
the 1,000-gallon cask, would not half ex- 
press our delight in that visit. Such de- 
licious wines are not found elsewhere in 
the United States. Those Brenner wines 
are getting a reputation not to be excelled 
anywhere in the country. Hermann has 
heretofore claimed the laurel in wines, 
but Doniphan now so far surpasses her 
in quality that Hermann must stand 
aside." It will be observed that the 
wine went to the Herald editor's liead in 
short order. 

A large school building of brick was 
erected in 1873, at a cost of |8,UU0. 

One day, late in the '508, James Eylar, 
who lived near Doniphan, while on his 
way to Atchison in a wagon, overtook a 
tall, angular man who asked permission 
to ride with him. As they rode Eylar 
told the man of some relatives he had 
living in Missouri, where he had been 
^ visiting. "What do you think of Jim 
Lane, over there?" asked the tall, angular 
man of Mr, Eylar. "They don't think 
much of him," replied Mr. Eylar, adding, 
"if they had the blank of a blank over 
there they would soon hang him." On 
his arrival at Atchison, Mr. Eylar dis- 



covered that he had been riding with the 
"grim chieftain" himself. 

J. F. Conrad, who does a general 
blacksmithing business, opened a shop 
here in 19U2. He does tine carriage and 
wagon work, guaranteeing satisfaction, 
Mr. Conrad's shop turns out as good 
work as can be done in any other shop 
in the county. 

The tail of the tornado that swept over 
the eastern portion of Atchison county 
on the afternoon of May 13, 1905, killing 
Mrs. John Ham, and doing great damage 
in its path, grazed the extreme southeast- 
ern portion of Doniphan county. "It 
started near the Catholic church in Doni- 
phan," says the Atchison Globe, "and 
was about a quarter to a half mile wide. 
It traveled in a northeast direction, to 
El wood. So far as can be learned, no 
one was injured. The track of the storm 
can be distinctly seen today; huge trees 
were torn out by the roots and fences 
blown flat. J. W. Stephenson's store, at 
Doniphan Station, was struck by light- 
ning, and Mr. Stephenson was stunned, 
and for a time was r^idered senseless. P. 
A. Breuer, who lives three miles north- 
east of Doniphan, was damaged ii?2,500, 
as he lost his house, his barns, fences, 
orchard, sheds, households goods, etc. 
There are seven in his family, but no one 
was hurt, except that one boy was pinched 
slightly. Mr. Breuer saw the storm 
cloud strike his place. Instantly every- 
thing went to pieces. A tree a foot 
through was cut olf by wire in a liog 
fence. The trees in the orchard were 
twisted out of the ground. One cow was 
carried a half mile, and not injured. Mr. 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HJSTORY 



Breuer had a new piano, and it was torn 
to pieces. The family saved nothing- ex- 
cept the clothing they wore, and are now 
at a neighbor's. The house of William 
IScholz, in the same neighborhood, was 
damaged. Arthur Evans, living in the 
same neighborhood, had his house torn 
down, but no one was hurt. A man 
named Christopher, living two miles 
north of Geary, had his house torn to 
pieces and is unable to lind any trace 
of it. Frank Brenner's house in Doni- 
phan was badly twisted." 

In 1893, G. W. Warfield opened a neat 
little store and has since been supplying 
his well pleased customers with meats, 
groceries and confectioneries. He is very 
attentive to the wishes of his patrons, 
and his store is a place for bargains. 

At present there are less than half a 
dozen business houses in town, but they 
do considerable business, and the propri- 
etors are wide-a-wake men, who believe 
in honest dealing and the free use of that 
magic composition which makes business 
and keeps the world awake— printers' ink. 
Following is a list of the men now in 
business: Anton Braun, general mer- 
chandise; J. F. Conrad, blacksmithing; 
G. VV. Wartield, groceries ; Dr. Allen; 
T. Langan, general merchandise. 



Brenner. 

Brenner was the third town in the 
township to be laid out. In 1870, the 
Atchison & Nebi-aska railroad was graded 
through the Rock creek valley, and in 
1872, Brenner was located by the railroad 
company. It soon grew into a busy lit- 
tle town, but the same power that had 



given it birth— the railroad—could not 
sustain its active lite, on account of its 
failing strength, and Brenner did not 
long continue in the march of prosperity 
that was so cheerfully and hopefully be- 
gun at the start. It is well remembered 
that during the latter 'TOs and early '80s, 
Brenner was an excellent grain market, 
being supplied with grain by the farmers 
of Wayne, Centre, Union and Wolf River 
townships. The buyers bought princi- 
pally for the Atchison millers, who al- 
ways paid high prices for good grade 
grain, such as the glorious county of 
Doniphan has always lurnished. How 
proud were the industrious farmers to 
learn that the wheat raised by them was 
made into flour to be shipped to England 
and other parts of Europe! Not a few 
biscuits made from Doniphan county 
flour have tickled the palates of the roy- 
al tv who demanded the best, and got it. 



FRAGMENTS. 

A depot was built in 1872 or 1873, and 
the boom began. 

A few years later, Jeff. McNemee 
opened a blacksmith shop, and the ring 
of his anvil gave a business-like air to the 
cosy village so beautifully located on 
Rock creek. 

Andrew Loyd, a young man fell under 
the cars and was killed, somewhere near 
the depot, February 25, 1879. 

H. Boughman, stockman, did a good 
business here during the early '80s, buy- 
ing and shipping hogs. 

In November, 1881, the depot agent 
at Brenner, endeavoring to get the mail 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



19 



sack on a very early train, made a ridicu- 
lous, if not a serious, mistake. He was 
in bed when the train whistled for the 
station. He rushed out in the twilight to 
meet the train, carrying the mail sack in 
one hand and his breeches in the other. 
The train did not stop, and in his con- 
fusion, instead of throwing the sack into 
the car, he mailed his only breeches. 
The train went thundering on, leaving 
the agent standing disconsolate with the 
chill morning breeze fanning his naked 
and trembling limbs. For this attempt 
to perform his duty his name, a few 
weeks later, was emblazoned on the pink 
pages of the New York Police Gazette, 
together with a picture and a graphic 
description of the shirt tail performance. 

The first depot agent for the Atchison 
& Nebraska railroad was Harry Nesbit. 
Brenner has turned out, at least, half a 
dozen competent telegraphers, all having 
been born and raised in the neighbor- 
iiood. ' 

The only store in 18S2, was owned and 
operated by Cook & Hinckley. The en- 
terprising gentlemen of this tirm had, at 
the time, about all the business there was 
in town— merchandising, grain shipping, 
notary and legal work, and the agency at 
the depot. 

Frank Welton who, for many years, 
had been a merchant at Norway, engaged 
in the grain business here about 1883. 

The first Harrison pole raised in Kansas 
was raised in Brenner, June 25, 1892. 
The pole was seventy-five feet high, in 
three sections, painted red, white and 
blue. 



William A. Stanton was for some 
years engaged in the mercantile business 
here. He sold out and went to Atchison 
about 1892. 

Brenner has always had good schot)ls, 
and during the ''9Us, was famous for its 
literary societies conducted there. Also, 
for a great many years it was the liveliest 
village in the county in the way of 
amusements; plays and balls being fre- 
quently given, and always with good 
success. 

Brenner continues to hold her own as 
a grain and stock market, and farmers 
delivering their products there have the 
advantage of the services of a good store, 
filled with a well selected line of general 
merchandise. The prices at this store 
will compare favorably with Atchison 
prices, and the proprietor, Mr. Geo. 
Weatherhogg, is not only a good judge 
of what goes to make up a first-class store 
for a country town, but is an obliging, 
courteous gentleman who believes in 
supplying honest goods at fair prices. 
Mr. Weatherhogg is also postmaster and 
has charge of the telephone' office. Pa- 
trons of the store will find Mr. Weather- 
hogg as obliging behind the counter as 
he is at the telephone or your Uncle 
Sam's mail box. A visit to the store will 
please you. 

A careless conductor of a freight train 
on the B. & M. railroad at Brenner, left 
a part of his train, with the caboose, on 
the main track, on which the fast train 
from Denver (the Cannon Ball) comes 
and which goes by at full speed. There 
being a sharp curve in the road just be- 
fore reaching Brenner, made it impossi- 



20 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



l)le for the engineer to avoid the collision. 
The brakes were quickly put on; the en- 
gine was rever;sed but the collision could 
not be avoided. The engineer and tirenian 
jumped and the engine struck the caboose, 
splitting it from end to end. The end 
Hew out or the boiler, the water pouring 
into the caboose where seven men slept, 
scalding them badly. One man, Mr. 
Wroth of Red Oak, Iowa, died from the 
effects. They were all workmen. The 
conductor of the freight train at once 
tted. 

The following are now in business: 
George Weatherhogg, general merchan- 
dise; Jeff McNemee, huckster; ,1. W. 
Lehew, blacksmith; Frank Severin and 
Mr. Smith, grain and stock buyers. 



Geary City. 

Early in 1857, a Leavenworth company 
purchased of C. Lewis 260 acres of land 
on the Missouri river above Doniphan, 
and laid out the town Geary, which was 
\uamed for the governor. For a short 
time it was believed that the new town 
would become a great city, but the hope 
soon vanished, and within a few years 
Geary took a back seat with plenty of 
company; for many another town that 
had started out with high hojies of 
achieving greatness had, within the same 
short time, seen the end of their prosper- 
ous days. Geary City is still on the map, 
and while it may have no brilliant fu- 
ture to look forward to, it cannot be 
robbed of its pleasant recollection that 
it saw greatness in its time. 



FRAGMENTS. 

The first building on the site of the 
town was a log house built in 1854, and ' 
used as a saloon. 

The second house was a hotel, and the 
third a printing office, the home of the 
Era. 

Early storekeepers were: M. Cuttle, 
Porter & Cooper, J. L. Roundy and C. 
Lewis. 

Franklin Grubb was the pioneer physi- 
cian. 

The first lawyer to hang his shingle in 
the sun at Geary was Jas, McCahon, af- 
terwards better known both to fame and 
to fortune. 

A postoffice was established in 1857, 
with J. Ij. Roundy as postmaster. 

A paper called the Era was started in 
June, 1857. This ambitious journal was 
well supplied with editors, having had 
three at the same time. E. H. Snow, 
Republican, furnished political red pep- 
per for his political friends. Joseph 
Thompson, Democrat, tickled the pride 
of the Democrats with the feathery end 
of his quill and took in some money on 
subscription. Earl Marble, American, 
wrote patriotic editorials in measure, ad- 
vocating love and devotion to the "Star 
Spangled Banner", but did not hold him- 
self above the writing out of receipts for 
subscription money. What strange scenes 
must have been witnessed in the Era of- 
fice! Republican subscribers rushing in 
to congratulate Mr. Snow on the ap})ear- 
ance of his red hot editorials, scorching 
the Democrats to a Vandyke brown; 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



21 



Democrats tossing their money to Mr. 
Thompson who, with beaming face 
and winking eye, produced a cork-screw 
which was soon put to its natural use 
with true Democratic skill; Americans 
interviewing Mr. Marble, oiferiug pota- 
toes on subscription and original patriot- 
ic poems for publication in the Yankee 
column. How very early in her child- 
hood did Kansas show herself a * -genius" I 

In 1858, the tirst municipal election 
was held. 

The tirst saw mill was owned by Frank- 
lin & Grubb, about 1858. Later the 
property was owned and operated by 
Franklin. Frick & Price, and it may be 
added here that some of the sycamore 
lumber sawed by this mill iu the early 
'60s, is still doing good service in some 
of the older buildings in the central and 
southern parts of the county. 

In 1858 or 1859, Flickenger & Lang- 
don built their "muley'', or up-right saw 
mill, which continued in operation until 
the fall of 1859. 

In the spring of 1858, Charley Lenhart, 
a printer on the Era, got drunk and be- 
gan to use his pistol recklessly. He went 
into the store of Porter & Cooper, in the 
upper story of which there was a dance 
in progress. The enlivening effect of the 
music on his already excited nerves made 
his trigger tinger restless and he began 
shooting up through the floor of the ball 
room. Alexander Patterson, a clerk in 
the store, being a lover of peace and not 
wishing to have the harmony of the 
dancers disturbed, picked up his own 
pistol and warned Lenhart to behave 



himself. Lenhart's trigger tinger was 
too limber for prompt obedience, and the 
tiring continued. Patterson then used 
another argument. He tired at Lenhart. 
Lenhart fell, and it was thought he was 
past all harm, but remembering that there 
was another load in his pistol, he fired at 
Patterson, the ball striking his arm, dis- 
abling it. The tight ended. Lenhart 
was laid up for some time, but eventually 
recovered. When the war broke out he 
went into the army and died in Benton- 
ville. Ark., in 18(33. He had been a 
first lieutenant under Col. John Ritchie. 

The tirst grist mill was erected by 
Franklin & Frick, in 18G0. Later it was 
removed to Doniphan, and from Doni- 
phan to Severance, where the same tirm 
continued in business until about 1898. 

Most of the threshing in this neigh- 
borhood, and for miles around, is done 
by Lemison Bros., who, by their strict at- 
tention to business and good services 
rendered, have won the confidence of 
their patrons; but tlieir long experience as 
ihreshermen would be sutlicient recom- 
mendation. Tlie popular ' saying that 
"bacon is good enough for threshers'", 
doesn't hold good when the women hear 
that Lemison Brothers are coming. They 
also own and operate a saw mill. 

Furtlier mention of Geary City will be 
found in the "Nutshell"' or paragraph 
history. At present there is but one 
business house in the -'city". Mrs. 
Flickenger owns a small grocery store 
and is postmistress. 

Won't the old City go when she gets 
the electric car line? Then she'll strut! 



22 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN' COUNTY HISTORY 



WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP. 

James R. Whitehead was the tirst white 
settler to locate in this township. He 
obtained permission from Indian Agent 
W. P. Richardson and erected his cabin 
near the place, which later was known as 
Whitehead, and still later as Bellemont. 
At first the place was called "Whitehead 
Post". The township, one of the origin- 
al five, was organized September 1, 1855. 
Three changes were afterwards made in 
the boundaries. The first change was 
made September 16, 1^56; the second, 
October 20, 1856, and the third June 21, 
1859. 

FRAGMENTS. 

Albert Head and F. Mahan were the 
iirst justices of the peace, and H.J. Jolm- 
son was the tirst constable. 

Early in 1851, Wathena, chief of the 
Kickapoos, built a wigwam on Peters 
creek, where he lived until about 1855. 

In the spring of 1852, Benjamin Hard- 
ing established a trading post near the 
present location of Wathena. During 
the same year he raised twenty acres of 
corn. Mr. Harding died at his old home 
in 1904. 

At the house of M. F. Moss was lield 
the first election, in October, 1855. 

Indian Agent Daniel Vanderslice di- 
rected a road, 100 feet wide, to be cut 
through the timber from the fei-ry land- 
ing on the west bank of the Missouri, 
opposite St. Joseph, to the Wathena 
trading post, a distance of three or four 
miles. The contract was let to Ebenezer 



Blackiston and Henry Smallwood. The 
work was done in 1854. 

The first white child born on Washing- 
ton township soil, was a daughter of J. 
R. Whitehead. This little lady made 
her appearance one day in the fall of 
1854; but her stay was brief. She did 
not live to see the sriow. 

The first religious services were con- 
ducted by a Methodist minister in 1854, 
in Chief W^athena's wigwam. 

One of the first fruit growers in the 
the township was Christian Poirier, who 
located near the Wathena post in 1854, 
and began the cultivation of grapes and 
berries. 

What is said to have been the first 
marriage ceremony performed in the 
township, was by Justice J. T. Braidy, 
in the spring of 1856, when Samuel Piles 
and Mary Hazelwood were h a p p i 1 y 
united . 

During the year 1856, three or four 
subscription schools were taught. Thf 
early teachers are here named: Misses 
Creal ind Alward, and Messrs. Patching 
and C lough. 

The first regular school district, Ko. 1, 
was oij.anized :n the spring of 1858, at 
Wathena, by the first County Superin- 
tendent, John Bayless. Benj. Harding 
was a leader in the organizing of this 
distric'. 

A large bed of coal has been discov- 
ered in Doniphan county, Kansas, with- 
in three miles of Bellemont. A large bed 
of what is known as petroleum shale has 
been found cropping out of the ground. 



GKAY'iS DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



23 



which burns almost as well as pure coal. 
Experienced miners, who have looked at 
the situation, say that there can be no 
doubt about hnding coal. Indeed, one 
has backed his confidence by investing 
several thousand dollars to secure a one- 
fourth interest. Work will begin on tiie 
spot soon.— St. Joseph Herald, May 8, 
1866. 



Elwood. 

In the fall of 1852, a trading post w;is 
established at a point on the west bank of 
the Missouri river opposite St. Joseph. 
The post was kept by Henry Thompson. 
In 1856, the Koseport Town Company, 
consisting of a man named Rose (George 
Ingraham ? ) and a few St. Joseph capi- 
talists, came to this point and, buying 
160 acres of land of Henry Thompson, 
for about $10,000, laid out the town of 
Rosepoj't. The town at once began to 
grow and prosper, and soon became a 
dangerous rival to St. Joseph. The 
Great Western Hotel, with its sevejity- 
tive rooms, was built and it enjoyed a 
most liberal patronage. Early in 1857, 
Rose sold out his shares in the Town 
Company, and quietly left the town for- 
ever. In June of the same year, the 
Town Company was reorganized, and the 
town received the name of Elwood. 
"During this season," says the historian 
of the '60s, "a newspaper was started, 
called 'Elwood Advertiser', which sent 
forth its weekly issues to herald the pro- 
gress of our young state. The growth of 
the city was almost incredible, and in 
1858, we had ten stores, three good liv- 



ery and sale stables, a good steam ferry, 
three good hotels, (one of them the Great 
Western, the largest hotel in the state, 
being 200x40 feet, and three stories high). 
All professional and mechanical branches 
were proportionately represented. Dur- 
ing this season tlie Advertiser changed 
its name, and came out as the 'Kansas 
Weekly Press', and was published until 
June, 1859, when it again changed its 
name, to appear as the 'Elwood Free 
Press'. Elwood continued to grow 
rapidly up to this time, and in July, 1859, 
boasted upwards of 2,000 inhabitants. In 
the spring of 1859, when the river was at 
Its highest, the banks being very sandy, 
began to cave and fall into the river and, 
in one month, the river had made such 
inroads into the treacherous soil, that 
many people were compelled to move 
their liouses in order to save them. This, 
however, did not impede the growth of 
the town, and it continued to grow rap- 
idly until the spring of 1860. During 
this spring the river again commenced 
sapping the foundation of our city, this 
time carrying away acres of the best and 
thickest populated portion, tlireatenin.g 
to carry us away altogether. This fright- 
ened the inhabitants, and Elwood began 
to show signs of going down, and the 
tide of emigration sought a more |)erma- 
nent investment for their means. In 
J 861, Elwood was but a shadow of its 
former self. The newspaper was discon- 
tinued, and nearly all branches of trade 
were brought to a stand still, buildings 
were sold at one-half their original cost 
and removed, some into the country for 
farm houses, and many helped to build 
up other towns in the county." 



24 



GKAiVS iX)^lFHAJS COUNTY HISTORY 



FRAGMENTS. 

The tirst store was opened by A. N. 
Campbell, in 1856. 

The tirst blacksmith on the ground was 
Henry Poor, who came about the year 
1856. 

In 1856, Wm. H. High built a steam 
saw mill which he operated tor a year or 
two. The second saw mill was built 
three years later by W. L. Lewis. 

J. E. Dry den was the first carpenter, 
in 1857. He built the Great \Vestern 
hotel. 

The postoffice was established in 1857, 
with James P. Brace behind Uncle Sam's 
counter. During the same year Daniel 
Webster Wilder, author of the "Annals 
of Kansas", opened a real estate otlice. 

The town has been the birthplace of 
two newspapers. The Advertiser, estab- 
lished in 1857, by Fairman & Newman, 
and the Free Press started in the 
winter of 1858-9, by Tracy Brothers. 
The writer of this has a sample of the 
job printing done in the Free Press otfice 
in 1859. It is a tax receipt, "neatly ex- 
ecuted with promptness and dispatch." 

Albert L. Lee was the first attorney. 
He came in 1857. 

The first company of the first regiment 
sent into the army by Kansas, was organ- 
ized here. 

Dr. S. D. Smith of New York, was 
the pioneer physician. lie arrived in the 
town about 1857. 

Abel ^Montgomery, in 1858, was the 
first to otfer to the hungry public, home- 
made sausages and steaks. 



In 1858, Noyes & Smith opened a drug 
store, and the people were no longer 
without Vinegar Bitters and Rad way's 
Ready Relief. 

In 1860, the town was incorporated as 
a "city of the first class". 

The first mile of railroad on Kansas 
soil was built out of El wood in the dry 
year of 1860. 

From the spring of 1860 to the fall of 
1861, the town was the starting point of 
the famous Pony Express, an account of 
which will he found elsewhere in this 
volume. 

In 1863, Geo. D. Bennett and, we be- 
lieve, one or two other Jayhawkers, 
were "hung by the neck until dead" at 
this place. 

One of the greatest enterprises ever lo- 
cated in the state of Kansas, is the Har- 
roun elevator at El wood. It is one of 
the largest in the west, and can handle 
more grain than all the elevators of St. 
Joseph combined. It has a capacity of 
half a millon bushels of grain and will be 
able to average 150 cars a day. The actix- 
al time to unload a car, or 600 bushels, is 
less than two minutes. The weighing 
capacity of six pair of Howe scales is 45 
tons each, or 2 70 tons. The elevator 
building proper is of immense propor- 
tions, being 140 feet wide, 154 feet long 
and 156 feet high. The bins are from 4 
to 16 feet square by 8 feet deep. When 
one is standing on top of the immense 
structure, a magnificent view is afforded, 
his head being above the hills on either 
side of the great Missouri valley. 'J'he 
great panorama of ten to fifteen miles, in- 



GKAY'S DUJSIPHAJS COUNTY HISTORY 



25 



eluding the cities of St. Joseph, Elwood, 
Wathena, Amazonia, Atchison and the 
Missouri valley and river stretched out 
to view, affords a sight hardly compara- 
ble. The engine and machinery were 
started November 25, 1899. A special 
train of two coaches brought over a large 
number of officials of the road and eleva- 
tor companies, also a number of St. 
Joseph men, and a formal reception was 
held by Alio Harroun, the junior member 
of the tirm. This building was partially 
destroyed by a cyclone in the spring 
of 1905, and one man was killed. 



Wathena. 

Wathena perpetuates the name of a 
well known chief of the Kickapuo Indi- 
ans, who owned the land in that vicinity^ 
up to the time of the treaty in 1854. 
The town stands on the site of the village 
over which Chief Wathena held sway, 
the flouring mills now occupying a place 
very near the site of the chief's wigwam, 
which his squaw erected for him about 
the year 1852. In 1856, the town was 
laid out by Milton Bryan, P. Morse and 
W. Ritenbaugh, who bought the land of 
a man named Cox, paying him §750 in 
gold. The original townsite included 
160 acres. Had the men, who located 
Roseport, or Elwood, located at Wathena, 
their town would now be as large as St. 
Joseph, and would have been the metrop- 
olis of the state. 

FRAGMENTS. 

Peter Cadue, a Frenchman, was per- 
haps the first white man to make his home 
in Wathena's country. The time of his 



arrival is not now known, but it is cer- 
tain that he was there as early as 1840. 
Like all the early French settlers, he was 
welcomed by the Indians, and made him- 
self useful in many ways, beginning by 
taking an Indian maiden for his wife, 
and continuing by filling the office of in- 
terpreter. He won little less fame than 
his chief, for, while Wathena's name is 
immortalized in the town, the waters of 
Peter's creek are continually babbling 
Cadue's name and deeds. About the year 
1847, he left Wathena's country, retiring 
to the place now known as Petersburg. 

The first white man's dwelling was 
erected by Milton Bryan, in 1854. In 
the same year a postoffice was established 
and was known as "Bryan's postoffice". 

Albert Head opened the first hotel. He 
had a bar in the hotel, and old timers 
used to say that he kept a good article. 

August Mouirguis was proprietor of 
the first small store in the vicinity. It 
was in operation some two years before 
the founding of the town, or in 1854. 
The first store in the towii was opened 
by Thompson Kemper, in 1856. 

A man named Florian Leiber came 
with his bellows and anvil in 1854, and a 
new kind of echo was awakened in the 
picturesque hills surrounding the little 
city. The shop was a curiosity to the 
Indians, who stood around near the forge 
grunting out their surprises and stepping 
upon hot fragments of iron that lay here 
and there on the ground. Strange that 
Mr. Leiber could keep track of his tools 
with so many curiotis and kleptomaniacal 
visitors around him daily. 



26 



GRAi'JS DUJS'IFHA^ COUKTY HISTORY 



A few 1854 settlers in and around Wa- 
thena: Benj. Harding, Osborne Hulan, 
Alfi'ed Larzelere, Milton Bryan, Hender- 
son Sraallwood, John W. Smith, Samuel 
Montgomery, John Fee, J. J. Keaton, T. 
W. Watterson, Cary B. Whitehead, An- 
derson Cox, Joseph Siceluff, Tapley 
Ralph. We think all of these have 
passed away. 

Dr. Smith came about 1855 with his 
little black grip, and a year later came 
Dr. Crosstield to assist him in the battle 
with ague, which was then the most per- 
sistent of the white man's ills. 

About 185 7, Sidney Theriet, a disciple 
of Blackstone, opened an oftice in the 
rising city. 

The tirst school house, a frame build- 
ing, was built about 1857. 

The tirst Baptist church was organized 
in 1858, by Rev. Wm. Price and Rev. 
Alward. In 1871, their tirst church, 
costing about $5,000, was erected. 

The tirst Methodist church was organ- 
ized in the same year by Rev. T. K. 
Muuhall. Rev. I). H. May was appoint- 
ed pastor. One of the early pastors of 
this church was Rev. O. B. Gardner, 
who "pulled down the rebel tiag". 

Rev. Ephriam Alward, a Baptist, 
taught the tirst Sunday school in 1858. 
Meetings were held in the school house. 

In 1860, the St. Joseph & Denver rail- 
road "was laid to this point, and a few 
trains were run to and from Elwood. A 
big flouring mill was built the same year, 
at a cost of $10,000. 



The Wathena water mill was built on 
Peter's creek by S, Cox, in 1862. This 
mill was burned in March, 1881. 

In 1864, Ferguson & Co. erected an- 
other grist mill. 

The first postoffice money order issued 
from the Wathena postoffice in October, 

1866, was issued by Aug. Miller, P. M., 
to W. P. Craig. 

The town has had seven newspapers. 
The Reporter, established in 1867, by E. 
H. Snow and G. W. Larzelere; The Ad- 
vance, established 1878, by E. A. Davis; 
The Mirror, started after the demise of 
the Advance, by G. W. Larzelere; The 
Gazette, established in July, 1889, by C. 
C. Bartrutf; The Star, established in 
1899, by Pool Grinsteau; The Republi- 
can, started in 1900, by Pool Grinstead; 
The Times, established in 1901, by Pool 
Grinstead. Mr. Grinstead seems to have 
the backbone of the traditional editor 
tliat cannot be downed. 

The German Methodist Episcopal 
church society was organized in October, 

1867, by Rev. H. M. Meniger. In 1878, 
they purchased the church building of 
the Campbellites for $1,100. In 1872, a 
parsonage, costing $1,500, was erected. 

In 1868, the town had 1,400 inhabi- 
tants. Prior to this time five additions 
had been made to the original townsite, 
as follows: North Wathena, Constanti- 
nople, Wilson's addition. Seaman's addi- 
tion, and Smallwood's addition. 

Wathena Lodge, No. 65, A. F. tfe A. 
M., was organized January 2 7, 1868. The 
first officers were: S. Hatch, W. M. ; 



GRAY'y DOJ^JIPHA^ COUNTY HISTORY 



27 



W. H. Smallwood, 8. W.; Obe Craig, 
J. W. ; A. E, Campbell, secretary, and 
Milton Bryau, treasurer. 

The Catholic congregation was brought 
together in 1S69, by the pioneer Bene- 
dictine, Father Thomas Bartl, and a 
brick church, costing nearly 86,000, was 
erected. At that time the congregation 
consisted of about one hundred members. 
In 1880, a Sisters' school was erected and 
placed in charge of the Benedictine 
Sisters. 

Phoenix Lodge, No, 41, I. O. O. F., 
was organized February 26, 1869, with 
the following officers: J. T. Wlieeler, 
N. G.; W. H. Wilson, R. S.; J. C. 
Gordon, V. G. ; J. Robertson, P. S.; P. 
M. Sturgis, treasurer. 

In 1870, a fine brick scliool house was 
erected at a cost of about !^1 0,000. 

In 1873, the town was incorporated. 
Obe Craior was the first mavor, and James 
Mitchell the first clerk. 

The Second Colored Baptist church 
was organized in September, 1873. by 
Revs. D. liCe, Lawrence; John Bourn, 
Ft. Scott; Williams and Clarkson, El- 
wood, and S, Jackson of Wathena. A 
church building was put up that year, the 
members of the church doing most of the 
work. 

From the Reporter of June, 1872, we 
glean the following sketch of the early 
history of Wathena: 

''Little did the hearty pioneer who 
passed over the present site of Wathena, 
twenty years ago, enroute for California, 
imagine that here in so short a time 



would be a densely populated country, 
diversified by towns, villages and highly 
improved farms, orchards and vineyards. 
As we take a retrospective view, dating 
back from the year 1855, and compare the 
appearance of the country then with what 
it is now, we are amazed at the change 
time has wrought. Then a vagrant band 
of Kickapoo Indians, of whom old Wa- 
thena was chief, resided in bark lodges 
near the present site of Snively & Hedge's 
mill, and roamed over the prairies be- 
tween this place and Kenuekuk, forty 
miles distant. Wathena kept a "toll 
bridge", which spanned Peter's creek 
near the place where the upper bridge 
now (1872) stands, and his children, of 
whom he possessed enough to form half 
a dozen families, would on the approach 
of a traveler, rush out in battalions and 
regiments, yelling "two bitsi two bits!" 
until they received the amount, or a curse 
or two for their racket, when they v,-ould 
disperse and await the arrival of another 
customer. A short time previous to that 
year, the only white man in the vicinity 
was Benj. Harding, who resided about 
half a mile above St. Joseph street, and 
the quarter section of land that he entered 
now comprises a portion of Wathena. 
Mr. Harding removed here in 1850, pre- 
vious to the opening of the territory of 
Kansas to immigrants, and is the oldest 
settler in this section of the state. The 
eye had an unobstructed view of miles of 
the country, and not a sign of habitation 
was visible; no evidence of civilization; 
nothing but a vast expanse of verdant 
growing grass, gracefully swaying to and 
fro in the gentle winds, reminding one of 
the undulating waves of the ocean." 



•28 



GRAi'S DO^IPHA^ COUNTY HISTORY 



In 1854, Milton E. Bryan built the 
lirst house in Wathena proper. H. S. 
Creal soon after erected a small house on 
a claim near the townsite. Soon after 
this Henderson Small wood, O. Hulau, A. 
Larzelere and many others "took claims" 
or "squatted" on a quarter section each. 

The affairs of the Wathena State Bank 
had been iu an unsatisfactory condition 
for some mouths prior to January, 19U1. 
State Bank Examiner Breidenthal, who 
had been corresponding with the cashier, 
J. F. Harpster, tinally notiiied Harpster 
that he would be at Watliena on ihe loth 
of January, and asked him to call a meet- 
ing of the directors of the bank for that 
evening. When Breidenthal arrived, he 
discovered that no meeting had been 
called and that Harpster had gone to sup- 
per. Harpster was sent for, and although 
he sent word that he would be down, he 
did not put in an appearance. Another 
messenger to his residence a short time 
after failed to locate him. It was then 
that Breidenthal went into an examina- 
tion of the books with the book-keeper, 
continuing until midnight. The result 
of the examination was to close the bank 
next morning and to declare it insolvent, 
at noon. Harpster did not put in an ap- 
pearance until nine o'clock Wednesday 
morning, the 16th, and when asked to 
account for 82,000 worth of securities 
held by a St. Joseph bank, lie said he 
would telei»hone and find out about the 
papers. This he pretended to do, and 
said they would be over on the evening 
train. Breidenthal telephoned later and 
discovered that Harpster had not tele- 
phoned to the St. Joseph bank. When 



Harpster was informed of this, he said 
he would telephone again, and leaving 
the bank he proceeded to the undertaking 
rooms of Bauer & Elmer. He passed in- 
to the rear room of the establishment, 
and shortly afterward Bauer heard a shot. 
Rushing into the rear room Bauer saw 
Harpster fall. He had shot himself in 
the right temple with a 32-calibre revol- 
ver, and the ball had gone entirely 
through his his head, coming out above 
the left ear. He lived but a few mo- 
ments after the shot. 

Miss Carrie Dieter's "The Great Rock 
Island Waltz" was composed by her and 
dedicated to the Rock Island railroad in 
March, 1895. She was a native of SVsl- 
thena. 

Wathena is one of the most enterprising 
towns in Northeastern Kansas. There 
never has been a time when the town took 
a backward step. In dull years, when no 
progress was made, it maintained its own, 
and that, too, regardless of the fact that it 
is located almost in the shadow of a great 
city. It is the home of Doniphan Coun- 
ty's Chautauqua, which this year held its 
Seventh Annual Assembly. In the fol- 
lowing chapters, and especially in the 
"Nutshell" History, will be found some 
recent notes concerning this model town, 
that gives promise of becoming, some 
(lav. a suburb of St. Joseph. From the 
advertising columns of the town's news- 
papers we copy the names of the present 
business men, and present them here. 
Chas. H. Bauer, jr., undertaker; Wathe- 
na Fruit Company; J. A. Stewart & 
Brother, general merchandise; Gordon- 
Brown Fruit Co.; N. B. Forbes, fruit; 



GRAl > DOMl^HA> eOLNTV HJSTOKY 



29 



Fanners' State Bank: j3<?ob Miller, 
drugs: Wathena Fruit Growers' A^ocia- 
tion; Ernest Foger. drags: J. H. Grable, 
M. D.: Dr. Matthews: P. E. Milboume. 
Ijarber: Clarence Davis. Wathena "Pant- 
atorium"; Blum *t Whitney, livenr; 
Groh & Estes. general merchandise: W. 
J. Shalz. general merchandise: and the 
Fruit Growers' Staxe Bank. 



IOWA TOWNSHIP. 

This township received it? name froui 
the Indian tribe that hai its reservation 
in the northern part of what is now Doni- 
phan county. It is one of the live orig- 
inal townships organized in IS54. A 
majority of the land is rough and. even 
'•bluffy", altbough some of the finest land 
in the county lies south and west of High- 
land. It is |>erhaps the best watered of 
the townships, the largrest stream being: 
Wolf river, which dows through the 
east-em part of it. There i-^ an abund- 
ance of good timber. The iirst settle- 
ments of the county were made here by 
Rev. S. M. Irvin. who located as a mis- 
sionary near the present site of Highland. 
in May, 1837, an account of which will 
be found in another part of this b'X>k. 
Between the years of 1S37 and 1S54. few 
settlers appeared, but about 1834. and 
immediately after the con.-lasion of the 
Indian treaty, settlers came by the dozen. 
Iowa Point was located in 1855. and 
White Cloud and Highland in 1S56 and 
1857. During the first three or four 
years of Missionary Irvin's residence in 
this county, there was an extreme scarci- 
ty of mail. The good man ha*^i to go. or 



send, a distance of 100 miles— to Libert v. 
Mo.— for his mail, and it took about a 
week to make the round trip. Mail was 
then a luxury, indeed. In 184'J. when a 
postoffice was established at St. Joseph, 
the trip to the postoffice was comparative- 
ly short, and the run was considered onlv 
as an ordinary exercise. In 1S55. Uncle 
Sam's carrier came nearer, crossing 
the Missouri river and bringing the mail 
to Iowa Point, After that, to receive 
mail once or twice a week was no unusual 
thing, and the stout-hearted pioneers felt 
the way growing smoother in the path of 
civilization. 

FKAGSCEXTS. 

In 1S37. the first religious exercises 
were held at Mission, with Reverend 
Irvin in charge. The first school was 
taught at the Mission, also, about the 
same time, the teachers being Rev. Wm. 
Hamilton. S. M. Irvin. Miss Walton and 
Mrs. FuUertou. 

Mrs. Comstock. the wife of a California 
emigrant, died near the Mission. Ac- 
cording to Bird's History this was '-per- 
haj^" the first death of a white person in 
the township: but it is stated in the Chief 
that Thomas Jefferson Southerland died 
at the Mission and was buried there in 
September. 185U. We believe, however, 
that Mrs. Comstock's was the tirst death, 
and that the year of iis occurrence w.as 
much earlier than 185:2. as stated in 
Bird's. We believe that her death oc- 
curred about 1843. 

The lumber used in the construction of 

the Mission building at Highland, came 

jail the wav from Pittsburg, Pa. It ma-le 



30 



GRAiVS DOJSIFHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



exactly a steamer load. The building 
was begun in 1845. 

Bird's History, 1882, states that the 
first marriage in the township was that 
of "J. Poteets and Nancy Bancroft". 
Evidently this is a mistake, and there be- 
ing no date given it cannot be counted. 
The Historical Chief, 1893, says that the 
first marriage ceremony in the township, 
and probably the first in the state, was 
performed by Rev. Hamilton on July 3, 
1845, the happy principals being Silas 
Peirce and Mary Shook. 

The honor of being the first child born 
in the county has been given to Daniel 
Vanderslice, son of Thomas J. Vander- 
slice, who served a term or two as sheriff 
of the county. He was born in 1854, 
with the Territory, near the Mission, and 
died in Troy in 1873. 

Pryor Plank took up his claim in 1855, 
blazing a walnut tree with this loud hint 
to "jumpers": "If any man jump this 
place he will have bad luck. Pi-yor 
Plank." 

A few early settlers in the vicinity of 
Eagle Springs: George Logan, Fred 
Dickenson, John Alfrey, James Kennedy, 
and Thomas Crozier. All these came in 
1855. In the Iowa Point neighborhood, 
the same year, the following settled: 
James Martin, Mrs. Martha Martin, 
Henry Swiiiny and Mrs. Steve Marcum. 

In 1855 or 1856, a party of voters 
headed by Doc Long, went in a wagon to 
the polls on Wolf river to cast their vote. 
Each niaii was armed with a Sharp's rifle. 
The fact that a few of the party remained 



with the wagon to guard it while the 
others voted, would show that the "po- 
litical pot" was hot to "b'ilin' ", and even 
slopping over, about that time. 

John Pierson of White Cloud neigh- 
borhood, committed suicide about 1857. 

Some time late in the '50s, young Dana 
Fox was shot from ambush and killed by 
an unknown assassin. This occurred on 
the Fox farm near Highland. 

Eagle Springs, the only mineral springs 
in the county, was not discovered by the 
whites until 1857, although the Indians 
had for a long time been acquainted with 
its existence. The lowas had a village 
located there long before Kansas was 
carved out of the Indian territory, and it 
is believed that a prehistoric race once 
had its camp there, the place being rich 
in stone implements and rude relics of 
a prehistoric race. 

In 1858, a man holding shares in the 
Buffalo Town Company, traded four of 
his shares for 450 acres of land in Penn- 
sylvania. Buffalo was one of the early 
paper towns of the county. 

On July 23, 1858, the first school meet- 
ing was held, and a school district, called 
by the organizers, "No. 1", was organ- 
ized. This district is now No. 56. The 
following officers were elected at this 
meeting: S. Pritchard, director; M. M. 
Sharp, secretary; G. L. Martin, treasurer. 
The first term of school was taught by 
John F. Sparks in a log house erected 
for the purpose on, or near, the present 
site of the school house now belonging 
to district No. 56. 



GRA^'N UOiMPHAN COUNTY" HISTORY 



31 



George Bird, who, in the early days, 
was a teacher of band music, and who 
still resides in the vicinity of Highland, 
organized a band early in the '608. Later, 
he organized and taught the Sever- 
ance G. A. K. band. 

In 1859, John Chappie of Iowa town- 
ship, owned an ox that measured 18 hands 
high and weighed 2,000 pounds. 

Sixteen negroes were kidnapped near 
White Cloud on Tuesday night, May 13, 
1862, from the farms of Boliver Beeler 
and Dr. Nuzum, by a party of men from 
Missouri, aided by men living near town. 
The kidnappers knocked Dr. Nuzum 
down with a club and beat hiiil over the 
head with the butt of a revolver. 

The Indians had a ball-play upon the 
reservation, Sunday. Jim Whitewater, 
on the occasion, was handsomely dressed 
in a breech-clout; Little To-he sported 
an elegant suit of black paint, and Ki-ke 
appeared in a tasteful costume of a bow 
and arrow.— White Cloud Chief, May 15, 
1862. 

On one occasion, when one of the sol- 
dier Indians from the Iowa tribe returned 
on a visit to his home, a big Indian dance 
was had in his honor. The soldier Indi- 
an brought a number of scalps home with 
him which he hung upon bushes and 
danced around them. 

About the last of May, 1863, a span of 
mules was stolen from Thomas Martin, 
near Iowa Point, and a set of new harness 
from John Beeler near Highland. A 
party from Highland and vicinity pur- 
sued the thieves and came up with them 
in Brown county, near Kennekuk. One 



of the party drew a revolver and shot 
both of the thieves; then tumbling them 
out into the road, they took the wagon 
and mules and started for home. One of 
the thieves was wounded in tiie shoulder 
and the other in the neck. They were 
left lying where they fell, l.ut they re- 
covered and were caught and brought to 
Highland and given a hurried trial. They 
made confessions, giving their names— 
Melvin and Shannon, from Missouri. 
"It was decided to hang them", says the 
Chief of June 4, "and in the afternoon of 
June, 3, 1863, a large crowd gathered at 
Highland to witness the hanging. The 
prisoners were taken to a grove a short 
distance below town where they were 
strung up. Owing to the bungling man- 
ner in which the cords were fastened, or 
in letting the victims drop, their death 
was not instantaneous, but they hung 
for some time. We learn that one of them 
struggled for ten minutes, or perhaps 
tifteen, when one man attempted to put 
him out of his misery by shooting him, 
but was prevented by the crowd." 

The lirst distillery in the county, if 
not in the state, was operated by William 
Flynn in 1864, at or near Iowa Point. 

On the afternoon of May 25, 1865, 
Charles Fox, then living near Highland, 
went to town, leaving his wife home with 
a child some three or four years old. 
Shortly after he left the house a stranger 
entered with a drawn revolver, demand- 
ing all the money in the house. Mrs. Fox 
told him there was no money in the house; 
that all they had, had just been loaned 
to a neighbor the day before. The man 
told Mrs. Fox that she was lying and 



32 



GRAiVS DUNIFHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



threatened that if she did not immediate- 
ly tell where the money was, he would 
kill her child, at the same time making 
an attempt to seize the little one. Find- 
ing that threats would do no good, the 
brute went up stairs to search the house, 
alter warning Mrs. Fox that he had an 
accomplice outside who would keep 
watch on her movements. When the fel- 
low had gone up stairs Mrs. Fox pro- 
ceeded to hide her watch and some other 
valuables. There were two revolvers in 
the room, one loaded the other empty. 
She hastily seized one. Pretty soon, the 
man, having failed to find any money up 
stairs, came down. As soon as he ap- 
peared she leveled the revolver at him 
and pulled the trigger; but unluckily she 
had picked up the unloaded revolver, and 
there was only a harmless snapping of 
the hammer. The fellow knocked the 
poor woman down with his own revolver, 
kicked her in the breast and side and left 
her lying senseless on the floor. She lay 
in that condition several hours before re- 
gaining consciousness. 

The Highland Ku-klux caused a reign 
of terror in the southern part of the 
township in September and October, 
1875. Death warnings were served on 
citizens and other ugly threats made. A 
barn belonging to Dana Fox was burned 
and an attempt made to assassinate Geo. 
Brinton by members of the gang. 

In the correspondence of an early set- 
tler in this township, we find mention of 
an Indian pappoose buried in a tree-top 
on the bluffs near Cedar creek. A rough 
trough hewed out of a small tree held 
the remains of the little warrior. 



The township has four defunct towns: 
Cincinnati, near the present site of Wil- 
low Springs school house; Buffalo, near 
Eagle Springs, at the place now known 
as Buffalo Hollow ; lola, near the spot 
where the school house of that name now 
stands; Winona, on or near the county 
line west of Highland. 

The townships contains 52,480 acres 
or 82 square miles. 



Iowa Point. 

Iowa Point was located in 1855, by 
two of the Forman brothers and S. Pem- 
berton. The land on which it was locat- 
ed was originally Irwin's 160-acre "float". 
Building began at once, and soon the 
town was in a booming condition. In 
1857, it had outstripped Atchison. One 
of the storekeepers of that time used to 
say it was a poor day when he did not 
take in a thousand dollars in yellow 
money; that he was "tired of handling 
gold". The good times remained with 
the town until the beginning of the war. 
About this time misfortune overtook it. 
The City hotel burned down; the ferry 
boat went to the bottom of the river; the 
newspapers suspended, and the war 
brought trouble into the camp. The 
town was practically Southern in sympa- 
thy. In 1862, a great tire destroyed the 
main portion of the town and gave it a 
set-back from which it never recovered. 

FRAGMENTS. 

Boliver Beeler built the first hotel in 
1855. 



aRAi'S DUMFHAJS COUNTY HISTORY 



33 



Early storekeepers, 1855--6: Beeler & 
W illiams, X. K. Stout, and Leach Bros. 

A saw mill was built by Fornian & 
Pe ruber ton, in 1855. Two years later 
they erected the Iowa Point mills. 

The first blacksmith located the same 
year. His name was John White. 

The postofiice was established early in 
1855. Postmaster Pemberton's task was 
not a heavy one, for it is said that he 
could carry all the mail in his hat. 

The first drug store was opened in 1856, 
by Ijeigh & Brown. 

Burkhalter & Hobbs were proprietors 
of the first meat market, opened the same 
year. 

The first physician to locate was Dr. 
Leigh, in the second year of the town's 
existence. Soon after him came Dr. 
Long, of the "Electric" school, wherever 
and whatever that was. 

The first lodge of Good Templars or- 
ganized in the state was instituted here 
in 1856. 

The first church was erected by the 
Presbyterians, in 1857. About the same 
time the Baptists and Methodists began 
to hold meetings. 

The Smithton Lodge, the first in the 
state, was removed to this j)lace in 1857. 

In the same year, "the first, last and 
only" negro slave ever oflFered for sale in 
the state of Kansas, was sold at auction 
on the streets of the town. 

In 1857, all the voters in the township 
voted here. "The voter handed his ticket 



to the judges, when it was at once opened 
and the names of the candidates read off, 
and recorded on a tally sheet, in the 
voter's presence." 

In this same prosperous year, a ^10,000 
hotel was built; but it was destroyed by 
fire two or three years later. 

In 1858, the town had a few "whole- 
sale" houses whose trade extened south- 
west to the old stage station of Kenne- 
kuk, and west to Marysville. About this 
time Joseph Slickniann started a brick- 
yard, and sold brick at $5U a thousand. 

In 1861, a company of malitia was or- 
ganized and put under command of C J. 
Beeler. The next year a company of the 
Eighth Kansas was stationed here. 

The town has had two newspapers: 
The Enquirer, established July, 1858, by 
Thos. Key, of the defunct Doniphan 
Constitutionalist, and the Dispatch, es- 
tablished 1859, by Ansel Watrous and J. 
W. Biggers. 



Highland Statiun. 

This little town was located on the A. 
& N. railroad, four miles east of High- 
land, in 1869 or 1870. The Town Com- 
pany consisted of J. P. Johnson, B. F. 
Herring, J. A. Kennedy and G. W. 
Glick. From the first the place has been 
alive with business, and has been the re- 
ceiving and shipping point for Highland. 
Although the town is situated in a 
timber country, there are some of the 
richest farms near it that are found in 
any part of state. The population of the 
town is small, but the country iujniediate- 



84 



GKaVVS DUMrilAN COUNTY HISTORY 



ly arouvid it is densely populated. Of late 
years Highland Station has been the tield 
for the annual holding of the County 
Fair, which is patronized by thousands 
from all over the county. 

FRAGMENTS. 

In 1849, the gold seekers began to pour 
westward over the California and Oregon 
trail, the St. Joseph branch of which ran 
some distance to the south of this place. 
In that year a wagon train camped upon 
ground which now belongs to John Eth- 
erton. Five persons belt)nging to the 
train died of cholera, and were buried 
there. The burial was made without 
coffins, blankets being used to wrap the 
bodies. Friends carved the names of 
the dead on a large tree near the gi-aves; 
but the tree was cut down long ago. The 
land over the graves has been plowed up, 
and now there is no one who knows ex- 
actly where the unfortunates were laid. 
Some years ago one of the bodies was ex- 
humed and taken to Missouri, near Sa- 
vannah, for permanent burial. 

Early in the '50s, there were three or 
four Indian villages in this section of the 
county. The woods were full of game. 
Wolf river was well stocked with fish, 
and the bottom land being exceedingly 
rich and fertile, it was possible for the 
red man to raise corn, potatoes, pump- 
kins, etc., in abundance, without the ex- 
penditure of much physical labor. Here 
lie lived in peace and plenty until the 
wiiite man'f* canoe began to nose its way 
up the little stream to seek out his camp 
tires and offer its cargo of trinkets in 
trade for his land. 



An early settler in the vicinity was 
James Gurwell, who came in 1854. Prior 
to his coming to Kansas, he resided in 
Holt county, just across the Missouri 
river. During his residence here, 1888 
to 1854, he frequently crossed the river 
to engage in deer and buffalo hunting in 
the Wolf river country. From him the 
early settlers had their first account of 
the great battle fought between the Sacs 
and Foxes and the Pawnees, somewhere 
near the present site of Severance, in 1844. 

The first stores were opened by J. A. 
Kennedy and B. F. Herring, in 1870. 
In the same year a blacksmith shop was 
added to the town, a depot was built, a 
postoffice established, and a hotel was 
opened by J. Browning. 

The Union church was built in 1881. 

The first depot agent was Howard 
Vanderslice. 

On the Mclntyre farm east of town is 
a grove of persimmon trees. It is the 
only pei'simmon grove in this part of the 
slate. 

In 1894, Highland Station claimed to 
be the center of the greatest population 
in the county, there being 1,400 people 
within a radius of three miles from town. 

The present business men are: George 
Miller and Ed. Kent, dealers in general 
merchandise; Dr. A. Herring, druggist; 
Paul Jones, restaurant; L. Myers, black- 
smith; F. Troxel, hotel and liveryman; 
B. F. Martin, blacksmith, and N. N. 
Gallagher, dealer in hardware, and buyer 
and shipper of stock and grain. 



GKAi'y DO-NIFHA^ COUNTY HISTORY 



35 



White (loud. 

A company composed of John H. Utt, 
Janien Foster, Dr. II. W. Peter, Corneli- 
us Dorland and Enoch Spaulding, was 
(U'ganized to "found a town on the bank 
of the Missouri river in Kansas Terri- 
tory." The town was located in 1856, 
receiving the name of White Cloud, for 
a noted chief of the lowas who had been 
killed in battle in the region of the Ne- 
maha about 1854. The land on which 
the new town had been located still being 
in possession of the Indians, no title 
could be secured until the spring of 1857, 
when the land was put up for sale. The 
Town- Company was reorganized and en- 
larged, Dr. Richard J. Gatling, later the 
inventor of the famous Gatling Gun, and 
his brother being new stockholders. On 
July 4, there was a steamboat excur- 
sion and a barbecue. Two thousand peo- 
ple were in attendance. Four steamboats 
from important points on the river were 
there, and a band from St. Joseph fur- 
nished the music for the occasion. It is 
said that $24,000 worth of lots were sold 
that day. Red path's Handbook, 1859, 
has this to say of White Cloud: "It 
contains 500 inhabitants, five stores, a 
printing office, from which is issued 
weekly a live paper, the Kansas Chief; 
also a good school. Good coal is found 
here, also iron ore, limestone and an 
abundance of excellent timber. The land- 
ing is a good rock one." 

FKAliMENTS. 

Thomas Lease, the first settler, built 
his cabin near the spot where the depot 
now stands. 



Michael Bird was the proprietor of the 
first store. 

In the fall of 1857, an artist, traveling 
in a skilf, painted the "JPanoraina of 
tlie Missouri", in which White Cloud ap- 
pears as she was in her Sunday-go-to- 
meeting clothes, July 4, 1857. 

A Pawnee Indian exposition and singu- 
lar ceremonies observed by the Indians, 
were described in Sol Miller's Chief, 
August 1, 1872, in the following manner: 
"On last Saturday about fifty Pawnee 
Indians, men, women and children, 
mounted on horseback, and with their 
goods and chattels strapped on pack- 
horses, came to White Cloud to cross the 
river on the ferry. 'Ihey were on their 
way to Iowa to visit and to hunt, where 
they expected to remain for two months. 
They hauled up beneath a large tree on 
the river bank, and dismounted to go 
through the ceremony previous to 
crossing. The Indians have supersti- 
tious ideas connected with crossing the 
great river on a journey, and make a 
sacrifice to propitiate the spirit of the 
water. Their sacred animal is the dog, 
and this animal is selected for sacrifice. 
After dismounting, they formed a circle 
beneath the tree, and the old chief deliv- 
ered an address, or pow-wow. At the 
conclusion of this an old squaw gathered 
up a dog by the hind legs and dashed 
him with full force against the tree, kill- 
ing him the first blow. Then she tore a 
strip from her calico dress and tied it 
around the dog's neck; after which the 
chief took the dog and pronounced an- 
other rigmarole over it. The Indians 
then formed in single tile, the chief at 



36 



GRAV'^ DUJMIFHAM COUNTY HISTORY 



the head, carrying the dog, and marched 
down to the water's edge, forming a cir- 
cle around the leader. Here the chief 
stood with the dog in the water, holding 
it up with one hand and went through 
another pow-wow. After this he dipped 
his hand into the water and sprinkled it 
off into the air. Then the rest of them, 
one at a time, approached the water, 
dipped in their hands, and threw oft" the 
water in the air. The ceremony being 
completed, the chief gave the dog a shove 
and started it down the stream, after 
which they went upon the ferry-boat 
and crossed the river." 

J. C. Pierce owned the pioneer livery 
stable. 

Isaac Cleveland was the first on t!ie 
ground with the hammer and anvil. W. 
H. Forncrook developed his muscle in 
this shop. 

The first steam ferryboat belonged to 
Joshua Taylor, who arrived with it from 
Wellsville, Ohio; on June '3, 1855. He 
entered into a partnership with J. W. 
Moore, and the lirm, having named the 
boat "White Cloud", was ready for the 
ferry business which Was carried on until 
the spring of 1862, when the boat was 
sold to O. Baii^yi Mr. Bailey operated 
the boat about five years, or until it be- 
came unfit for further use. In May, 
'1868, a new boat was built by Bailey & 
Noyes, the name of "White Cloud" being 
transferred from the old boat to the new. 
one. In 1881, J. H. Lynds became the 
owner. 

The first "hocht zeit", as the Dutch 
would say, came off last Sunday, and was 



a rich affair. The wedding party started 
from the "Jug Tavern" or "Globe Hotel", 
in a two-horse wagon, in the morning to 
proceed two miles below town, where the 
ceremony was to be performed. Upon 
their departure they were saluted with 
yelling, screaming, and hammering on 
all manner of tin pans and buckets. In 
the night a crowd proceeded to the house 
where the happy young pair was 
roosting, after they had stowed them- 
selves away for the night. They entered 
the house, seized the bridegroom, and 
dragged him out amid the firing of guns 
and the yelling of the crowd. They were 
taking him en chemise to a creek nearby 
to duck him, but were bought off by the 
promise of a treat on the morrow. Matri- 
mony is no small undertakmg in White 
C'loud.— Chief, September 10, 1857. 

The first boarding house was erected 
in 1856, by Enoch Spaulding, near the 
present site of the City Hotel. 

In the same year, Samuel Lappin and 
Charles G. Scrafford set up the first saw 
mill. It was a "muley". 

About the same time the first- disciple 
of >^sculapius. Dr. Thomas C. Shreve, 
located, and the first carpenter, R. S. 
Wakefield, opened his shop. 

The first drug store was opened by 
Shreve & Macy, 1857, and a saw mill 
with a circular saw was built by Jolin 
H. Utt. 

On the 28th of March, 1857, Sol Miller 
came from Ohio, and established the 
Kansas Chief, which he published here 
until July, 1872. 



GRAYVS DON IFH AJS COUNTY HISTORY 



37 



A Methodist Episcopal church was or- 
ganized by Reverend Graham, in 1857. 

Six newspapers have been established 
here: The Chief, by Sol Miller, in June, 
1857; The Leader, Yard & Overholt, 
August, sixteen years later; The Review, 
G. II. Holton, November 1, 1880; The 
Resurrection-Eagle, David Magoun, Oc- 
tober, 1887; The Review ( revived ), 
Saunders Bros., 1888, and The Globe, J. 
J. Faulkner, April, 1892. 

August 3, 1857, the White Cloud town 
company received from VV^m. Walker of 
Wyandotte, a painted picture of "Ma- 
hush-ka" (White Cloud), chief of the 
lowas. This painting was made in 1826 
by James O. Lewis. 

The first school in White Cloud was 
commenced by Mr. Slauson in the Town 
Company building, Monday, November 
28, 1857. 

There was great rejoicing in White 
Cloud Wednesday afternoon, June 2, 
1858, the occasion being the arrival of 
the steam ferry, "White Cloud", from 
W^ellsville, Ohio. The boat's arrival was 
greeted with cheers from the crowd col- 
lected on the levee, and with the firing 
of a couple of anvils. 

A butterfly, -'alive and kicking", flew 
into the Chief oftice at White Cloud, 
January 24, 1858. 

V. D. Markham was the first lawyer 
to locate. 

The City Hall was built in 1858. 

The first school house, a frame build- 
ing, was erected the same year. Soon 
afterwards it was burned and was re- 



placed by a brick building. This was 
sometimes used for church purposes. 

At an early date the town was supplied 
with manufactories, there being a large 
grist mill, a carding mill, a planing mill, 
four saw mills and two shingle mills. 

The firm of Russell Majors & Waddell, 
government freighters, made this their 
starting point, in 1859. Their trains 
were sent out from here for about a year, 
when a change was made, the company 
removing their headquarters to Atchison. 

A flat boat was operated by a Tennes- 
seean named Stonecipher, for a great 
many years. 

A planing mill was erected by J. H. 
Utt, in 1863. 

In 1870, the A. & N. (Burlington) was 
graded through the town, ever since 
which time prosperity has never folded 
her banner here. 

In 1874, a fine brick school building, 
heated by furnace and elegantly furnished, 
was erected at a Cust of $12,000. 

To the credit of White Cloud it may 
be said that it has excellent schools and 
fine churches. It is the only one of many 
river towns established in the '50s, on 
the Missouri, that has survived to hold its 
own after a half century of severe trials. 
Sol Miller, while residing here with his 
Chief, always was proud of the town, and 
when he went to Troy to occupy a more 
central location, he preserved a warm 
corner in his heart for the town that was 
the birthplace of his Chief. For many 
years after taking up his residence in 
Troy, Mr. Miller exercised a father's care 



38 



GRAVES DOMFHA^J COUNTY HISTORY 



of White Cloud, frequently visiting it, 
printing good news concerning it and 
even scolding the people there when they 
strayed from the path of rectitude, or 
showed symptoms of chronic indolence. 
White Cloud has kept pace with its 
neighbors in the building of schools, 
churches, business houses and dwellings. 
The columns of the local paper, the 
Globe, is well tilled with advertising, 
which proves that the business men there 
are well acquainted with the secrets of 
modern success. In different chapters of 
our History will be found notes and 
sketches of White Cloud and her people. 



Highland. 

The design of the founders of High- 
land was to make it an educational town, 
and when the town was laid out in 1857, 
a site for a University was chosen. The 
following year actual work on the Uni- 
versity began, and ever since the school 
has enjoyed a prominent place in the list 
of educational institutions of the state. 
Highland is a beautiful town, and has 
more of the picturesque appearance of a 
residence city than any other town in 
Northeastern Kansas. Although there is 
no railroad there, the nearest being about 
four miles to the east, it is a lively place 
with plenty of business houses and enter- 
prising merchants, and is surrounded by 
some of tlie finest farm lands in all the 
W est. 

FRAGMENTS. 

The first Sunday school was organized 
by Superintendent E. M. Hubbard of the 
Presbyterian church, about 1857. 



About the time of the founding of the 
town a school was commenced in a log 
cabin, which was one of the first buildings 
on the townsite, and which had been used 
as a pre-emption house. W. McGookin, 
an Ohio man, is given as the name of the 
teacher. 

In the same year, Stevenson & Deane 
opened the first general merchandise 
store. 

The first inn was operated by E. M. 
Hubbard. There were fourteen rooms in 
the building. 

E. Snyder was the first on the ground 
with his saw, hammer and square. He 
came in 1857. 

The town has had five newspapers. 
The first was the Highlander, which be- 
gan publication in January, 1859, with 
Faulkner & Seaver, publishers, and T. 
P. Herrick, editor. It was a strange con- 
glomeration, a neutral paper, the pub- 
lishers being Democrats, while the editor 
was a Republican. The paper had but a 
brief existence. In 1878, the Sentinel, 
an Independent paper, was started by 
George Hammar. It was dead within a 
few months. In November, 1880, John 
L. Parker established the Central State 
which soon passed into the hands of a 
man named Moore, whom Sol Miller fre- 
quently roasted to a delicious brown. la 
1889, the Nuncio, a school paper issued 
by the University pupils, was established 
and continued for some little time. The 
latest was the Vidette, started in 1892, 
by H. S. Hogue, and still continued by 
Tobias Larsen. 



GRAB'S UO^irHAi^ COUNTY HISTORY 



39 



Dr. J. Leigh opened the first drug 
store, but Dr. Palmer, a Homeopath, 
was the first physician, in 1858. 

In 1859, a printer named Charley 
Whittaker bought the printing outfit of 
the Highlander, at Highland, and took it 
with him to Savannah, Mo., where he 
established a Democratic paper support- 
ing the Union. A few years later when 
the war began, some rebel recruits, on 
their way south to join Price's army, 
ransacked the office, loading the type and 
other material into their wagons and tak- 
ing all with them. Running short of 
ammunition at the siege of Lexington, 
they used the type and quads for shot. 
After the war a few of the besieged sol- 
diers brought home with them and 
kept as relics, some of the type and 
quads that the rebels had stolen from 
Whittaker's office at Savannah, and which 
had been fired at them during the siege. 

The first blacksmith, Aaron Baldwin, 
located in 1859. 

In July, 1861, Major Herrick organized 
Company A, Seventh Kansas Cavalry. 
The company was familiarly known as 
the "Kansas Jaykawkers". It is stated 
that the "Kansas Jay hawkers" partici- 
pated in four score of tights. The mem- 
bers were mustered out "with honorable 
mention" in September, 1865. 

James Shaffer opened the first meat 
market in 1865. 

A destructive tire occurred at Highland 
on Monday night, February 13, 1887. 
Six buildings were destroyed; a sudden 
change of the wind saved a large portion 
of the town. 



The hailstorm at Highland on June 3, 
1899, lasted less than tive minutes, but 
the ruin wrought can only be estimated 
by thousands of dollars. 



Fauuin^. 

In the spring of 1870, a station was lo- 
cated on the Atchison & Nebraska rail- 
way, in the extreme southeastern part of 
Iowa township, and called Fanning, by 
Jesse Reed and James Bradley, who laid 
it out. It is located in a very hilly 
country, covered with heavy timber, but 
for a time was a lively village. We at- 
tended a Fourth of July celebration at 
this place when we were a boy and were 
well pleased with the friendly spirit of its 
people and the manner in which they 
made the eagle perform on that day. We 
shall always have a friendly feeling for 
Fanning, regardless of the fact that it is 
credited with producing larger mosquitoes 
and more of them than can be found any- 
where north of the Yazoo river. 

FRAGMENTS. 

A blacksmith shop was the first build- 
ing erected on the townsite, in 1870. 

In the same year, a depot was built, and 
a postoffice was established with James 
Bradley to answer the important query: 
"Is there any mail for me?" 

William Hedrick Ijuilt a stone grist 
mill in 1872. 

In 1879, the Catholics of the town and 
neighborhood erected a fine church. 

F. G. Hedrick is still in the general 
merchandise business. He is postmaster 
and also deals in stock and grain. 



40 



GRAV'N DONIFHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



The Latter Day Saints have an organ- 
ization in the neighborhood, and other 
religions are represented. 

A dreadful railroad accident occurred 
on the Atchison & Nebraska road near 
this place on Saturday night, June 8, 
1872, resulting in the death of two men 
and the destruction of much railroad 
property. Superintendent Major Firth 
was making a tour of inspection over the 
road with his secretary, Mr. Allan. There 
had been floods and washouts on the road 
and as the engine was crossing the bridge 
near the Flick farm, near this place, 
with Firth and Allan riding on the cow- 
catcher, the bridge gave way, precipitat- 
ing the engine and her passengers into a 
deep gully. Allan was instantly crushed 
to death, while Firth received injuries 
from which he died some davs later. 



WOLF RIVER TOWNSHIP. 

Wolf River, one of the five original 
townships, was organized in 1855. It is 
one of most resourceful of the townships, 
containing an overshare of the excellent 
lands of the foremost county in the state. 
Along the line of the Rock Island rail- 
road, between Troy and Purcell, lies 30,- 
000 acres of land as fair and tine and rich 
as any that the sun, in his daily journey 
around the world, tinds to shed its glory 
on. The township is, in fact, one large 
and beautiful farm, lavishly soiled and 
plentifully watered by copious springs 
and clear-running streams. There are 
scores of farms in the township, whose 
owner hold them above $100 an acre, a 
pretty fair price for ground twenty-five 



miles from a city! The first settlements 
were made on Wolf river in 1854-5. 
Some of the earliest settlers are here 
named: Parker Hooper, John Cummings, 
A. Q. Rice, J. 0. Clark, Geo. Dittemore, 
Nathan Springer, John Prawl, Hugh 
Robertson, Grandison Wilson and John 
Wood. 

The township has six towns— Leona, 
Severance, Moray, Bendena, Denton and 
Purcell. Three railroads— the Grand 
Island, the Rock Island and the B. & M. 
pass through the township. 

FRAGMENTS. 

John Cummings and Caroline Hooper, 
both of the Hooper's ford country, were 
the first to be joined in wedlock in Wolf 
River township. The cremony was per- 
formed by 'Squire A. Q. Rice, one of the 
very first justices, in the spring of 1855. 

The credit for having been the first 
white child born within the boundaries 
of this township is given to Perry Ditte- 
more, a son of one of the very first 
pioneers, George Dittemore. The birth 
occurred in the W^olf river country in 
1855. 

The first death to occur was that of J. 
Waggoner, or W^agner, in 1855, men- 
tioned elsewhere. 

According to Bird's History, the first 
election in the township was held at the 
house of Milton Utt, at what was known 
as the Sac village, on the first Monday in 
October, 1855. Another account, more 
descriptive, yet lacking in date, is as fol- 
lows: "The first election in Wolf River 
township was held in a blacksmith shop 
near Hooper's ford. Everything was 



GRAys DUJSIFHAJN COUNTY HISTORY 



41 



quite primitive. The voters handed their 
tickets to one of the judges who deposit- 
ed them in an iron kettle upon which he 
sat." This, if the account be true, was, 
indeed, an original election. 

A. Q. Rice and S. D. Gilmore were 
the first justices of the peace, appointed 
in September, 1855. William Lewis, the 
first constable, was appointed at the same 
time. 

The very first settlements were made 
in the township by John Prawl, Nathan 
Springer, Parker A. Hooper and John 
Cummings in 1854. In 1855, G. R. 
Wilson, C. C. Clonch, George Dittemore, 
S. D. Gilmore and W. T. Rittenour, 
took up claims along the river. In the 
same year, W. Wood and Hugh Robert- 
son staked their claims in the northeast- 
ern sections, while the Grojiniger family 
came to the Independence country. In 
1856, John Wood, George Bromley, La- 
ban Jackson, Osul Nelson and George 
Malon took up claims in the northeast, 
while Charles Phillips, Thomas Lyons, 
Abram Bennett and Pat. Kirwan located 
in the eastern parts. Silas Loyd, David 
Hoppins and John Starr made their dug- 
outs in the southern sections in 1856 or 
1857. 

^lore than three-fourths of the early 
settlers of eastern Wolf River township 
came from Ohio, and each brought with 
hiin and retained his politics and religion. 

A store of provisions was kept by 
Abram Bennett, on his farm near l^rairie 
Grove, during the years 1856-7-8. He 
supplied the travelers who passed through 
on the old Pottawatomie trail. Perhaps 



this was the first store opened in the 
township. It stood on what is now the 
Wynkoop farm half a mile west of Ben- 
dena. 

Here is a copy of the advertising card 
of the first physician to locate in our 
township, the advertisement appearing in 
Smith & Vaughn's Directory: 

GEORGK J. ARCHER, 

PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON. 

Residence half mile east of Syracuse, 
Doniphan County, Kansas. 

Calls promptly attended to from all 
parts of the county. 

CHARGES REASONABLE. 

During the early days, 1856 to 1858, 
there hung in the postoffice at Doniphan 
a list of the names of fourteen residents 
of the Syracuse neighborhood. Anyone 
of the fourteen calling at the postofiice 
brought the mail for all and left it at 
Syracuse for free delivery, A little later 
they had a postonice of their own. 

One of the early blacksmith shops in 
the eastern part of the township was 
owned by Grandfather OsuJ Nelson and 
Samuel Hardy, first opened in 1857, on 
the Nelson farm just west of where Moray 
now stands. The blacksmiths needing 
coal went prospecting and discovered a 
mine in the Syracuse neighborhood which 
furnished them a supply. It was not the 
best coal in all the world, but it was the 
cheapest to be found. The shop did good 
business sharpening breaking plow shares, 
welding log chains, clevises, wagon tires, 
etc., and had the patronage of the travel- 
ers on the early trails, going out from 
St. Joseph 



42 



GRAiVS DOMPHA^ COUNTY HISTORY 



Another early shop, owned by Jacob 
Bursk, was located on the old Pottawato- 
mie trail about three-fourths of a mile 
east of SyracusiB. The site of this shop 
is still marked by a clump of trees, and 
scraps of iron used in the old place may 
still be found there. Bursk did much 
work for the emigrants and freighters. 
It is said that they kept him on the jump 
from morning till night as long as he re- 
mained. During the summer the light- 
ning had been unusually severe, two men 
having been killed within a half mile of 
Bursk's shop, and Bursk decided to re- 
turn to Ohio, where the lightning was 
not so freakish. 

In 1860, G. M. Clem, a Virginian, set- 
tled on the upper Independence and 
opened a shop in which he did work for 
neighbors in both Doniphan and Atchison 
counties. The shop was situated on the 
northeast corner of the place, just one- 
half mile east of where the Mt. Vernon 
school house now stands. For many 
years it was a land mark. Every neigh- 
bor's house was referred to as being situ- 
ated so many miles in this or that direc- 
tion from ''Clem's blacksmith shop". 

Later, along in the middle '60s, Fran- 
cis Fry opened a shop which was contin- 
ued for many years. At tirst it was located 
on the Pottawatomie trail, a little less 
than a mile east of the old site of the 
Bursk shop. Within a few years lie re- 
moved the shop to his house, where he 
did work for the neighbors until late in 
the '708. It was in this shop that the 
first glass ball trap ever used in the 



county was made. Fry was also a gun- 
smith. 

In 1858, a mill was built on Wolf river 
by a man named Bartlett. Three or four 
years later the dam was washed out and 
the mill as abandoned. The site of the 
mill was above Severance about three 
miles. 

About 1858, a postoffice was estab- 
lished at Walnut Grove, near Bayne's 
bridge, and Capt. Hugh Robertson was 
made postmaster. Some time later the 
office was removed to a point on Wolf 
river, where the mail, according to the 
testimony of an old resident, was kept in 
a dry-goods box. 

A big Fourth of July celebration was 
held at Syracuse in 1858 or 1859. A big 
hailstorm was one of the attractions not 
announced on the bill of the day's pro- 
gramme. 

In 1861, a Miss Strode taught a sub- 
scription school in a small cabin situated 
on the prairie about half a mile north of 
where Bendena now stands. The seats 
were rude benches fastened to the walls. 
There were no desks to lean upon. 

Perhaps the tirst cotton raised in the 
county, was on Wolf river in 1861. A 
farmer raised fifty pounds and it was 
said to have been ajmost as good in qual- 
ity as that raised in the South. 

J. P. Bitner, who for five consecutive 
years, was trustee of Wolf River town- 
ship, from 1862 to 1866, had, at one 
time, as much as $800 of the township's 
money on hand at his house. At that 
time the county was full of robbers and 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



43 



Mr. Bitner was placed in an unenviable 
position, for the law required that he 
should post up a notice, stating how 
much money of the township' she had on 
hand. Wishing to comply with the law, 
lie was placed between the horns of that 
fabled monster called a dilemma. He knew 
that most likely he should be robbed 
within twenty-four hours after it had be- 
came generally known that he had so 
much money on hand, yet he actually 
complied with the law by posting up the 
required notice. No sooner was the no- 
tice posted than a friend, who understood 
the difficulty, slipped around while Mr. 
Bitner was not looking and tore off the 
notice, thus preventing the opportunity 
for a possible robbery. And Mr. Bitner 
never asked who it was that tore down 
the notice. 

Wolf river was called Shnetonga Sepo 
by the early Indians. We regret that we 
are unable to find the significance of the 
word. No doubt the name is appropri- 
ate. Indian names usually are faithfully 
descriptive, conveying the true idea with 
great accuracy, if not always in terms 
exactly suited to delicate ears. It is said 
that the name "Wakarusa" was thought 
beautiful by the very refined ladies and 
gentlemen from the East, until the Indi- 
an legend concerning the river of that 
name was told about. The legend says 
that an Indian maiden (more practical 
than modest), while fording the river on 
horseback astride, getting into deep wa- 
ter, cried out to her friends on the bank 
the single word, "Wakarusa", which sig- 
nifies "hip deep". After the legend had 
been "told around", the name became 



unpopular and unpronounceable with the 
Class "A" Esthetics. 

The young fellows of the Syracuse 
neighborhood had considerable fun mixed 
with excitement in the early days of the 
civil war. The Syracuse prairies were 
used as a drilling ground. Many a dashing 
charge was rehearsed there, and many a 
raw soldier received a full share of "kicks 
and cuffs and sharp rebuffs". One of the 
lieutenants was a spry young man weigh- 
ing a little less than 250 pounds. 

One of the first teachers in the Syra- 
cuse school district. No. 7, was "Old 
Maid" Baker, a lady scarcely on the 
sunny side of forty. Her christian name 
we were for some time unable to ascer- 
tain; but one of the old settlers of the 
neighborhood informed us that her name 
was Fanny. This same gentleman had 
the pleasure of taking the lady and her 
trunk from Prairie Grove to Doniphan 
when, responding to a "call of duty", 
she started for the South to help educate 
the Negro. Miss Baker was a highly 
educated lady, and was considered a most 
excellent teacher. She was wealthy, also, 
and was the owner of a quarter section of 
land on which a Mr McNulty now lives, 
near Denton. 

During the 'BOs, wild turkeys were 
plentiful along Wolf river. In our youth 
we have patiently listened to the recitals 
of tales told by turkey hunters of the 
Hooper's Ford country, and to make a 
careful estimate of the number of birds 
killed there by these marksmen of un- 
erring aim during the early days, we 
should feel like placing the number at 



44 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



18,'701, taking for correct their own re- 
ports. Yet it is scarcely possible that 
each hunter killed as many birds as have 
been reported, and in justice to our readers 
we feel that the estimated number should 
suffer a generous redncti(>n. A well 
known failing of weak humanity is to 
overestimate and enlarge. Objects viewed 
in the blinding light of fame or glory 
often assume distorted proportions, and 
soft colors are made to blend and blaze 
riotously. Then, let us content ourselves 
by believing that the actual number of 
turkeys killed in these early times was 
much less than the above named tigure, 
and that the narrators of the stories were 
honest men led, for the moment, from 
the straight path of veracity by the flash- 
light of enthusiasm. Hower, turkey 
shooting was, for many years, a favorite 
import on Wolf river, and once in a while 
a bird strayed across the counti*y to Inde- 
pendence, just to excite the curiosity and 
stimulate the ambition of the high prai- 
rie marksman. 

Andy Weir, Joe Malou, Bob Pope, 
Sara Poynter and other good fiddlers, 
whose names we have forgotten, fur- 
nished the music for the dances attended 
by our fathers and mothers during the 
'608 and '708, when high-heeled boots, 
corduroy pantaloons and paper collars 
for the mei;, and grape-vine hoop-skirts, 
Grecian bends and waterfalls for the 
women, were in fashion. 

One of our early settlers traded his ox- 
team for a barrel of whiskey, and the 
friends he invited in that winter to help 
him drink it, declared that the old man 
had made a good trade. 



At the time of the earthquake ou 
A}n-il 24, 1867, a young lady pupil in the 
Syracuse school, which was then situated 
about a mile north of its present location, 
became the innocent victim of a misunder- 
standing. Tlie teacher, absorbed in her 
writing at her desk felt ajar which shook 
not only her desk, but the whole house. 
Glancing up to learn the cause of the 
disturbance, her eye met the frightened 
gaze of this young lady pupil. Quickly 
arriving at the conclusion that the pupil 
was the author of the mischief, the teach- 
er accused her of having used the desk 
for a drum. The young lady declared 
her innocence, but the teacher was in a 
pout, and made the pupil stand on the 
floor as a punishment for her supposed 
misdeed. Later, investigation on the 
part of the teacher proved that Dame 
Nature had had a spasm, and that the 
young lady pupil had been misjudged and 
wrongl}^ punished. The teacher Vad 
mistaken an expression of fear in the 
pupil's face for a sign of guilt. 

One of the largest eagles ever killed in 
the county was shot by John Gray in 
1868, on the southeastern section of 
W^olf River township. The bird meas- 
ured 8 feet, 6 inches in expanse of wings. 

A third of a century ago, in 1871, 
the farmers of Wolf River township cut 
3,565 acres of wheat, making 88,466 
bushels; 1,465 acres of barley, making 
25,334 bushels; 10,872 acres of corn, 
making 378,640 bushels; 1,482 acres of 
oats, making 44,064 bushels. 

On the Charles Lad wig farm, on the 
boundary line between Center and Wolf 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



46 



River townships, a Hhort distance east of 
where Bendena is now located, there 
was kept, 1873, a pet deer that belonged 
to Victor, the youngest son of Mr. Lad- 
wig. The deer had been brought from 
the West by the boy's uncle, but it never 
made a desirable pet on account of its 
disposition to butt visitors and make itself 
generally obnoxious when there was lit- 
tle or no provocation. It refused to re- 
form and had to be killed. 

The first threshing done by steam pow- 
er was by C-ook & (Jtten of Wayne 
township, who brought their outfit into 
this township about 1877. 

One of the first self-binders to come 
into use in the township was a Walter A. 
Wood wire binder, in 1879, and was 
owned by the Gray Brothers. 

About the year 1883, ten or a dozen of 
the farmers of the southern and eastern 
portion of Wolf River township, tried 
the experiment of having negroes do their 
farm work. After the first year's trial 
a few of the farmers let their negroes go 
and employed white men. After the 
second or third year the remainder of the 
farmers discharged their colored help 
and again took white men into their 
fields. These negroes were a jolly set, 
all Southern boru, jet black and genuine 
sons of the cotton field. After their 
day's labor they would congregate at 
night at some neighh)or's house to sing 
their Southern melodies, in which happy 
occupation they often would continue 
until a late hour. Stealing watermelons 
was their favorite pastime. One of the 
most successful raids on a watermelon 



patch, of which we have any knowledge, 
and in which we confess to having been 
implicated in our younger days, was con- 
ducted by one of those coli)red gentle- 
men of which we write. Tliey were a 
jolly set but failed to suit their employ- 
ers. They bore the family names of dis- 
tinguished men. 

A Wolf River township man, who re- 
sided in Doniphan in the early days, de- 
scribed Captain Dunning's band of "Ti- 
gers" as being fine looking, brave men, 
dressed in gray pantaloons and blue shirts 
with red cord ornaments on the breasts, 
all anxious for smell of gunpowder and a 
little of the experience of battle. 



Severance. 

The town was laid off in 1869 by C. C. 
Clonch, John Severance and Dr. Robert 
Gunn, and ^500 was donated to the rail- 
road company to build a depot at the 
place. When the railroad was built 
through Ryan Station, which was located 
about a mile and a half east of Severance, 
the company agreed with Joel Ryan not 
to put in a station within three miles of 
Ryan's. Nevertheless, soon after the lo- 
cating of Severance, the railroad compa- 
ny put ill a })latform and a side track at 
Severance. Ryan went to law with the 
company, and after a great deal of wrang- 
ling the trouble was settle in a way, and 
a depot was built at Severance in 1874. 

FRAGMENTS. 

The first building on or near the town- 
site was the log cabin of C. C. Clonch, 
which stood some distance west of the 



46 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



present site of the mill, and which was 
erected in 1854. Here, in 1855, Clonch 
was attacked by Swintz and Waggoner, 
whom he met at his door with a shot gun. 
With a single shot Clonch killed Wag- 
goner and fatally wounded Swintz. These 
were, perhaps, the first deaths in the vi- 
cinity. The trouble is said to have orig- 
inated over the alleged trespassing of 
stock. 

The first grain dealer was Adam Bren- 
ner, 1869. Wm. Ward engaged in the 
grain business two years later. 

The first store building was erected by 
Alexander Gunn, in 1869. The building 
is still standing and is in use by Wm. 
Ward. 

The first blacksmith was Al. Porter, 
who came in that lucky year, 1869. 

In the same year a postoffice was estab- 
lished with Alexander Gunn as postmast- 
er. A few of his early successors are 
here named: A. S. Campbell, Nathan 
L. Springer and N. A. Springer. 

J. J. Glass, (Johnny), was the first to 
don the "pinafore" and dish out "wet 
goods" to the thirsty, in the hilarious 
year of 1869. 

W^inchester Bell was the proprietor of 
the pioneer shoe shop. 

The first hotel was erected in 1869-70. 
Its first proprietor was Elder Wright, 
who had been a preacher in Kentucky. 

A mill-dam across Wolf river above 
the town was built in 1869, by Reuben 
Small, Thomas H. Franklin and Hazel 
Frick, and in 1871, a mill was erected 
within a quarter of a mile of the town 



limit, west. In the year 1900, the mill 
was removed to town, the dam having 
been usless for many years. 

The first school house "on the hill" 
was built in 1871, at a cost of $1,200. 
The building, which is still standing, was 
bought by the Christian church people in 
1894, and has since been used for church 
purposes. Some of the earlier teachers 
of this old school are here named: D. J. 
Mawherter, 1871-5; D. L. Carpenter, 1876; 
Wesley Trevett, 1877; Emma Plank, 
1878; Lou Clonch, 1879; D. L. Carpen- 
ter and Georgia Scott, 1880; T. B. Mar- 
shall and Lena Linder, 1881. 

The first hardware store was opened in 
1871, by L. C. Nelson. 

The first school was taught in 1871, by 
David J. Mawherter, an old-fashioned 
teacher of the old-fashioned school, with 
paper collar and red hair, worn pompa- 
dour. Mr. Mawherter was the first 
teacher of the author of this book, at 
Prairie Grove, in district No. 8, in the 
eventful year of 1869. 

John Toner opened a harness shop in 
1871. 

In November, 1871, James A. Camp- 
bell and his brother. Arch. S. Campbell, 
opened up the first drug store. They 
had been in business in Chicago until the 
time of the great fire, in October of that 
year. 

The Methodist Episcopal church was 
organized January 25, 1871, by Presid- 
ing Elder W. K. Marshall. The first 
pastor was Rev. G. Wood, 1875. In 
1874, a church, costing $2,700 was built. 
About the same time a parsonage, cost- 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



47 



ing Si, 000, was erected. A tireless 
worker for the church was Mrs. Catha- 
rine A. Rippey. 

Dr. D. J. Grandslaff, a Virginian, and 
the first town physician, located in 18V 1. 
He was followed by Dr. Bell. Dr. G. J. 
Archer of the Syracuse neighborhood, 
had been practicing in the country for 
some nine or ten years. 

Dr. Guy S. Hopkins, who was a resi- 
dent of Severance from 1874 to 1879, lost 
a child here by accidental poisoning. In 
August, 1879, the doctor and his wife re- 
moved to Gardner, Johnson county, Kan- 
sas, where, about thirty days later, an- 
other child, a girl, was born. During 
the doctor's residence in Severance, a 
strong friendship sprang up between his 
family and the family of Judge W. H. 
H. Curtis, and when this new little girl 
was born in Johnson county, the doctor 
named her Grace Curtis Hopkins, in the 
honor of Judge Curtis' daughter, Grace. 
About 1888 or 1889, the doctor's little 
girl was taken into a company organized 
for the purpose of reproducing Mrs. 
Frances Hodgson Burnett's famous "Lit- 
tle Lord Fauntleroy", receiving the part 
of the "Little Lord". Little Grace be- 
ing a child of uncommon beauty, and 
possessing remarkable dramatic talent, for 
one so young, soon won her way into the 
hearts of the theater-going people of the 
two continents. Her mother accompa- 
nied her in her travels with the company, 
and she has played "the Little Lord" to 
great audiences in the capitals of the 
United States, England, Ireland, Scot- 
land and Australia. All her successes and 
the flattery and admiration of the thous- 



ands that have seen her, failed to turn 
her "pretty golden head", and she re- 
mained a sensible, sweet American girl, 
and today she is a bright star in tbe 
theatrical tirmament. 

Simon L. Ryan, the first servant of the 
"Blind Goddess", located here in 1875. 
Mr. Ryan was also the first station agent 
here, 1874. 

In 1877, the town was incorporated. 
The first otticerswere: Mayor, W. H. H. 
Curtis; City Clerk, L. C. Nelson; Police 
Judge, J. A, Campbell; Councilmen, 
Amos Sanford, Dr. G. S. Hopkins, W. 
D. Rippey, Walter Clonch and John T. 
Kirwan. The first meeting of the coun- 
cil was held April 15, J 877. The town 
park was bought and improved by this 
council. W. D. Rippey is the only sur- 
viving member of the council of that 
year. 

Small-pox made fatal ravages in the 
town in the winter of 1877-8. Some four 
or five persons succumbed to the disease. 

A Severance man in poor health, fail- 
ing to find relief by the use of Walker's 
Vinegar Bitters, so heartily praised by 
Horace Greeley in his time, tried Gener- 
al Pleasanton's "Blue Glass Cure", in 
1877, and reported that relief had been 
obtained. 

King Lodge, No. 144, I. O. O. F., 
was organized September 17, 1877. The 
first officers were: J. A. Campbell, N. 
G.; W. B. Hargis, V. G.; A. S. Camp- 
bell, R. S.; G. T. Dooley, P. S.; A, E. 
Cyphers, treasurer. About 1884, the 
Order built a large hall which has a large 
stage and plenty of room for the audience. 



46 



GRAY'S DOIsIPHAN COUKTY HISTORY, 



In the second story is the lodge room, 
ample and well furnished. Severance is 
a tirst-class play town, and the old stage 
in this hall has been well worn with the 
"tread of many famous feet". 

B. F. Harpster was the first to open a 
bank in the spring of 1878. It was a 
private bank. Mr. Harpster continued 
in the banking business here until about 
1895. 

In 18V9, Thomas McGee was found 
dead lying on a railroad bridge on the 
east line limit of the town. The coro- 
ner's jury found that he had fallen there 
during the night, and that his death had 
been caused by the rupture of an artery 
in the brain. 

In the same year. Marshal Joseph 
Sykes was stabbed and killed by Ira Mc- 
Intyre, at Sykes' door. This occurred on 
the old hotel block, the exact spot being 
unknown; but the location of Sykes' 
house was on the northern part of the 
block, not far from the railroad. 

Early in the '80s, the Franklin Broth- 
ers, Ed. and Will, had a job printing es- 
tablishment here. They did some most 
excellent work, and a great deal of it, 
for the merchants. One of the jobs 
turned out was a book of poems for a 
rising young poet of the county, printed 
in 1884, with red marginal lines and col- 
ored paper cover. 

A Public Library was established in 
1881, which is still in existence, furnish- 
ing the reading public with the newest 
and best literature. 



Along in the '80s, the Barlow boys, 
local terrors from Union township, put a 
few dashes of red paint on the town, on 
one or two occasions. About the same 
time they robbed the postoffice at Nor- 
manville and shot Mrs. Normile, wound- 
ing her seriously. The Police Gazette 
published pictures of "the boys" and 
gave an account of their raids. 

In 1882, the first elevator was built by 
Snively & Moll, at a cost of $4,000. 

In 1882, St. Vincent de Paul's Catho- 
lic church was built at a cost of about 
12,000. Father Pirmin M. Koumly, O. 
S. B., of St. Benedict's parish in Union 
township, was placed in charge. 

Severance has been the home of three 
newspapers. The Enterprise, started by 
H. H. Brooks, in February, 1883; The 
Times, established in August of the same 
year, by E. J. Vandeventer; The News, 
born in April, 1889, is still living. The 
first editor was W. T. Randolph; the 
second, P. L. Gray; the third, L. P. 
Johnson; the fourth, Eva Ryan; the 
fifth, M. Lucey, and the sixth and pres- 
ent editor is Mrs. Hattie E. Peeler. 

Frank Dixon's threshing machine broke 
through the Wolf river bridge at this 
place August 7, 1886. The engineer, 
Jake Mulkey, and his son, Caleb, went 
down with the engine and were badly 
bruised up. 

Poke Wells, a notorious river horse 
thief from Missouri, was captured on a 
farm, one mile east of Severance, in the 
spring of 1887, and taken to prison. It 
was thought that he would be a hard 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



49 



man to take into custody; that he would 
not be taken alive, etc., but he was 
caught "napping", as it were, on a very 
windy day, when his captors approached 
without being detected. When the offi- 
cers came down on him they found him 
engaged in the very prosaic occupation of 
sharpening his pocket knife on the grind 
stone! 

Severance had a conflagration Sunday 
morning, January 22, 1893, the most de- 
structive in its history, which swept one 
side of the street, almost the length of 
the block. About 4 o'clock that morn- 
ing, a clerk sleeping in the upstairs of J. 
A. Dillon's store, was awakened by some- 
thing falling in the room below. He 
found the room full of smoke, and saved 
himself by jumping from the window. 
The lower part of the store was in flames 
and nothing could be saved. This build- 
ing was on the southwest corner of the 
block. The tire spread to the adjoining 
buildings on the north and swept the en- 
tire side of the block, except Campbell's 
drug store on the northwest corner. The 
other buildings burned were, Leonard's 
drug store, Harpster's bank, Vigus' har- 
ness shop and a billiard hall. All these 
saved a portion of their goods. 

On the night of Hallowe'en, 1894, a 
crowd of boys and girls, while engaged 
in a Hallowe'en serenade, was tired on 
with a shot gun in the hands of a man 
named Wood, who became angry because 
the crowd had made too much noise at 
his door. Two shots were fired at close 
quarters into the crowd, which quickly 
scattered in all open directions. No one 
was seriously injured, but the doctor was 



busy for some time picking shot out of 
the lower limbs of half a dozen of the 
serenaders, both sexes having shared 
equally in the distribution of the leaden 
pellets. 

A. C. Man waring, once a resident of 
Severance, was elected to tlie Indiana 
senate from the Kosiusco and Wabash 
district, to till a vacancy caused by the 
death of a senator, in February, 1895. 

"'Triss", a catchy little drama, was 
presented by the Severance Dramatic 
Company, in July,' 1896. 

One of the most interesting games of 
bass ball ever played in the county, was 
played at Severance on July 4, 1896, be- 
tween the Severance News club of little 
girls and the "old boys" of the G. A. R. 
it was not only a contest between youth 
and old age, but was, also, a struggle be- 
tween father and child, for many of the 
girls were daughters of the veterans. 
The veterans' costumes consisted of check 
shirts, blue overalls and straw hats, while 
the little girls wore caps, shirt waists, 
and bloomers and short skirts. Each club 
had its friends who furnished plenty of 
applause. The veterans made many good 
hits, sending the ball far and high, but 
stilt' joints and dried muscles hindered 
them trum making many runs. The girls 
\von the game, the secret of their success 
being in their ability to run bases and 
score tallies; indeed, they batted the ball 
harmlessly enough, as if it were a thing 
of delicacy. Although the day was very 
warm, the game did not lag until the 
end, and the audience was the most en- 
thusiastic ever seen at a base ball game 



60 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



in this county. A game between June 
bugs and grasshoppers could not have 
caused greater excitement. The game 
was witnessed by about 2,000 people. 
Following is a list of the names of the 
players : 

G. A. R. Club-Geo. H. Robb, Sam 
Moyer, Lafe Bowman, Bowen Small, 
Henry Dresser, Geo. Bird, W. Stewart, 
and Wm. Ward. 

Girls' Club— Daisy Robb, Pearl Turner, 
Virginia Crady, Linnie Hancock, Rosie 
Delaney, Lulu Weaver, Lottie Tracey, 
Katie Delaney and '-Harriot" Chapman. 

During the years of 1894-5-6, five 
brick buildings were erected. Delaney & 
Lyons', Harpster's bank, now Morley's 
bank, J. A. Dillon's, now Gus. Ebner's, 
Ed. Heeney's, and the Turner hall. The 
years from 1892 to 1896, were the most 
prosperous ever enjoyed here. The Sev- 
erance News, then an 8-column paper, 
had to put on side-boards to carry all the 
advertising— that is to say, it had to issue 
a supplement week after week. Ed. 
Heeney's appropriate title, "Car Load 
Heeney", was bestowed upon that hard- 
ware prince during this time. The Bank 
of Severance began reaching out for busi- 
ness to the farthest ends of the county, 
and sooi; found itself in the front rank. 
Gus. Ebner built a new store with a tire- 
wall, and sold shoes to everybody that 
had feet. W. N. Vaubebber had charge 
of the livery barn and his axle grease bill 
was no small item of expense, for the 
busy wheels of his rigs kicked up the 
dust continually. Franklin & Frick's 
mill kept rumbling on, singing the song 



of prosperity. Delaney & Lyons used 
printers' ink by the gallon, Burnett 
Brothers actually sold diamonds to the 
farmers, and A. B. Showers was kept 
jumping about in his restaurant sixteen 
hours a day. Mrs. P. A. Corcoran had a 
dozen boarders and never served them a 
lean meal. Frank J-ieonhard, druggist, 
prospered and was happy. Frank is still 
in the harness with new collar, tough 
tugs, brass buckles and plush back and 
belly bands. Dentist Doc Bennett waxed 
fat in purse and person, never deserting 
the town except for a few weeks, when, 
in 1893, astride of his good horse "Ca- 
lamity", he raced with Lucy C. Hunne- 
cut for a farm in the Cherokee strip. 
Bob Vigus, tonsorial artist, was continu- 
ally busy in his neatest of parlors. He 
put his customers "next" from two chairs 
and was considered the most skillful 
barber in the county. J. A. Dillon, an 
excellent business man, was drawing trade 
from all over the county. J. R. Hop- 
kins used half a page in the News to ad- 
vertise his goods, and swelled his bank 
account to most comfortable dimentions. 
W. H. H. Curtis, one of the most able 
lawyers in the county, worked hard and 
won honor and the reward of coin. Judge 
Curtis has often been weighed in the 
balance and found full weight. Billy 
Ward, the pioneer business man, fed the 
hungry from his meat shop and grew fat 
himself. M. H. Peeler, dealer in grain, 
kept his elevator humming day and night. 
C. N. Willis, known in advertising as 
"Sci'een Door Willis", had gratifying 
sales. He was a persistent and sly ad- 
vertiser. The Grand Island railroad re- 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY Hj^7x>rvi . 



51 



ceived a good patronage from stock men, 
grain men and merchants, and the coffers 
of the county treasury were tilled with 
tax money from the town. Truly Sever- 
ance occupied a conspicuous place on the 
map. She continues to hold her own 
and, in our opinion, will never be in- 
duced to take a seat in the rear. 

Present business houses in Severance: 
Ed. Heeney, hardware; J. M. Morley, 
Bank of Severance; Lyon's Cash Store; 
Gus. Ebner, shoe dealer; Ebeling & 
Laverentz, millers; Gregg & Gregg, 
hardware; J. H. Blevins, cider mill; J. 
W. Pry, auctioneer; Jake Kersch, cloth- 
ier; David C. Hall, barber; A. B. Show- 
ers, confectioner; J. A. Campbell, nota- 
ry public; T. H. Franklin, justice of the 
peace and insurance agent; A. J. Clyman, 
coal and grain; George Springer, general 
merchandise; Mrs. Hattie E. Peeler, The 
Severance News; W. N. Vanbebber, 
liveryman; Mrs. E. R. Chapman, mil- 
liner; Mrs. R. A. Corcoran, "Shamrock" 
Hotel; L. M. Bennett, dentist; Chas. J. 
Foster, stockman; A. D. Hall, black- 
smith; Mrs. M. J. Hambaugh, milliner; 
Miss Belle Zimmerman, milliner; R. H. 
Merrick, dentist; T. E. Horner, M. D. ; 
T. J. Francis, lumber; H. C. Hansen, 
insurance. 

The town has, at least, four men who 
have been in business continuously for 
more than a third of a century. William 
Ward and J. A. Campbell, who came in 
1871, W. D. Rippey, who was on the 
ground when the town was located, and 
Col. J. W. Pry, veteran auctioneer, and 
author of two manuscript books, "The 



Bachelor's Guide" and "Experiences of 
an Auctioneer". 

Fire dates—Heeney and Lyon's hard- 
ware store, Frank Dixon's place and oth- 
ers on the north side of Linn street, 1883; 
Dillon's, Harpster's, Burnett's, Vigus', 
Leonhard's and the billiard luiU on the 
east side of Dryden street, J.muary 23, 
1893; Leonhard's, on the south side of 
Linn street, 1894; Roach's elevator, 
1901, and City Hotel, 1903. 



Norway. 

In January, 1869, a stock company 
composed of six farmers— Osul Nelson, 
G. Nelson, Thomas Steanson, N. G. Nel- 
son, Abram Bennett and Tyre Nelson- 
selected a site for a station on the St. 
Joseph & Denver City railroad, to be 
called Norway. The company purchased 
of John Hoverson eighteen acres of land 
for $360, and the town plat was made 
and prepared for record. In 1870, ten 
acres, belonging to G. Nelson, were 
bought by the stock company and donat- 
ed to the railroad company, to secure a 
depot and side track for their town, which 
was built in the same year. 

FRAGMENTS. 

The first store, which was kept in the 
depot, was opened by Abram Bennett & 
Son, in the spring of 1870. We recol- 
lect that the goods were kept on the 
counter and on the cross braces of the 
building, there being no shelves of any 
kind. A very coarse brown paper was 
used for wrapping all classes of goods, 
from the best gunpowder tea to the 
cheapest ten-penny nails. Peaches sold 



52 



GttA\'» j^Ols'iPHAK COUISTY HISTORY. 



at from 50 to 60 cents a can. Sugar, a 
very inferior quality of dirty brown, sold 
for 20 cents a pound. Green coffee cost 
about 30 cents and otber things were 
proportionately high in price. Even the 
staple goods for little boys and girls- 
raisins and candies— commanded extrava- 
gant prices, and the little fellows with 
the sweet teeth soon made the discovery 
that only five sticks of candy were 
given for a nickel, while at Doniphan the 
storekeepers gave six. 

Silas Bennett was the first depot agent, 
in 1870. 

In 1871, Abram Bennett erected a large 
grain house and store room combined. 
The stock of goods was then moved out 
of the depot' and new goods added to the 
stock until the interior of the building 
began to have the appearance of a real 
town store. 

The old parsonage, which still stands 
on the hill, in the southeast corner of the 
townsite, was erected during the same 
year. 

A postoffice was established here with 
C W. Bennett as postmaster, early in 
1871. 

About 1873, Tyra Nelson bought Ben- 
nett's stock of goods, but he did not 
long continue in l)usiness. When Frank 
Welton of Blue Rapids, came looking for 
a location, Nelson sold out to him. Wel- 
ton continued in the store business until 
about 1880, after which he gave all his 
attention to the buying and shipping of 
grain and hogs. 



The town has had, .it least, three black- 
smiths: T. Nelson, about 1874, Joe 
Senter, 1875, and A. Ferguson, 1880. 

District No. 48, although nearly two 
miles from Norway, has long been known 
as the Norway school. It is one of the 
most widely known schools in the coun- 
ty, and has always employed capable 
teachers, paying generous salaries. The 
first school taught there was in a log 
house belonging to Chris. Turkleson. 
The teacher was Miss Betty Pry, now 
Mrs. George H. Robb of Severance, and 
the time was early in the '60s. The 
school had many a friendly spelling con- 
test in the early times, with its neigh- 
bors, and especially with the Wolf river 
school near Bayne's bridge. The boys 
and girls that attended those spelling 
matches are now wearing locks of gray, 
but their eyes brighten when the subject 
of spelling school is mentioned, and the 
young folks, who are wise enough to 
listen, are certain to hear of something 
to their interst and amusement, in the 
line of a story that is certain to be told. 

In 1877, Frank Welton moved his 
stock of goods from the warehouse into 
his new building which had been erected 
on the south. 

In the same year. Hardy Brothers 
erected a store building and engaged in 
business. A little later fire destroyed 
their building together with Welton's 
which was close beside it. Welton did 
not re-engage in the general merchandise 
business, but the Hardys built again and 
continued in business for many years. 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



53 



About 6 o'clock p. m., May 25, 1877, 
on the east bound freight train, on the 
Denver road, Conductor Peter Sharp met 
his death in the following manner: Tlie 
train was so heavy that they had to 
double over the hill between Norway and 
Troy Junction. Half the train had been 
brought over the hill and the engine was 
returning for the other half. Sharp was 
on the engine and as it neared the train 
he jumped off on the track to run ahead 
and be ready to couple the instant the 
cars were reached. It is supposed that 
he slipped and fell across the track. Two 
wheels of the tender passed over his body 
almost cutting him in two. He gave a 
scream, but it was too late, the engine 
could not be stopped. Death was almost 
instantaneous. 

The Norway Gun Club was organized 
in 1877, with half a dozen members. The 
practice was glass ball shooting; later 
clay pigeons were used. The club had a 
few crack shots that derived a lot of 
pleasure from the meetings. The grounds 
upon which the club used to shoot were 
literally covered with glass, and to this 
day millions of fragments of green, yel- 
low and blue glass are to be found after 
tlie plow. 

Sunday night, September 33, 1877, two 
stores—Hardy's and Welton's— were de- 
stroyed by fire. Welton who was sleep- 
ing in the store, broke a side window 
with his boot-jack and made his escape; 
not, however, without singing his luxuri- 
ant beard. 

About 1879, a large section house was 
built some distance down the railroad 



from the depot. The building was burned 
a few years later. The house was occu- 
pied by Aaron Root, who gave many a 
gay ball for the young folks. 

In April, 1879, a telegrapli office was 
put in here with VV. H. Smith operator. 

In JVIarch, 1882, Leander Hoverson, 
station agent, fell under the cars and his 
leg was so severely injured that amputa- 
tion became necessary. II is injuries 
caused his death, March 23. 

About 1884, the Lutherans erected a 
handsome church on the hill just north of 
town, adjoining the cemetery, which had 
been located there for many years. 

The first and last regular saloon was 
opened in the winter of 1884-5. It was 
a small building and a very tough place. 
Before the doors had been opened for a 
second or third week's trade, the boys 
"shot up" the "chebang" and then over- 
turned it. The keeper, from his retreat 
in a corn-shock, witnessed the ceremonies 
of inversion, and the next day, without 
protest or farewell, he went away in 
sackcloth and ashes. 

During the '80s, buyers and shippers of 
grain did a well paying business, the 
town being situated in the heart of a 
farming and stock raising community. 

A boy named Surenson was accidental- 
ly shot while attending target for some 
shooters, and died a few days later. This 
occurred in the winter of 1881-2. 

NovemVjer 4, 1887, Wintield Earhart 
attacked Andrew Delaney, stabbing hini 
in the breast with a knife, inflicting a 
serious wound. 



54 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



We can't close this sketch of Norway 
without mentioning Joe Howland, the 
pioneer carpenter, who came to Kansas 
more than a third of a century ago, and 
who has built more stores, dwellings and 
school houses than any other carpenter in 
the county. Mr. Howland is still a mas- 
ter of the saw, and square, and level, and 
never thinks of taking a rest. People 
trust an old carpenter as they trust and 
cling to an old and honored physician. 
We are proud of Mr. Howland's work 
and record. 



Leoua. 

Leona is situated in the northwestern 
part of Doniphan county. It was laid 
out June 15, 1873, by a stock company 
of which J. W. Shock was president. 
This land was part of the farm owned by 
David Kercher, and was selected as the 
central point from which to ship the pro- 
ducts of this fertile neighborhood. To 
secure railroad facilities, the company 
gave the St. Joseph & Denver railroad 
the land for a depot and about $1,000 
cash . The following year the stock com- 
pany sold out to Henry Gregg, he assum- 
ing the part of the road in its contract 
with the town. 

FRAGMEXTS. 

The first building in the town was the 
house of D. Kercher, which has since 
been purchased by Henry Edwards and 
by him remodeled. 

The first business house was the com- 
bination store room and depot of Henry 
Gregg. 



The first postmaster was D. Kercher, 
who, prior to the building of the store, 
had the postofiice in a cracker box in his 
house. Robert Mailler was the next post- 
master, and he was followed by J. B. 
Brooks, J. A. Myers, E, B. Gatchell, 
George Schoiield and Dr. Hoover. 

The first death in the town was that of 
Ray Carpenter, a child of D. L. Carpen- 
ter. 

The first wedding was that of P. A. 
Floodin and Ida Shock. 

The first physician wias Dr. S. H. 
Blakely. He was followed by C. B. 
Channel, R. W. Lewis, E. Walters, R. 
C. Pierce and C. E. Hoover. 

The second store was built by Reed & 
Wilson. 

The first drug store was that of C. B. 
Channel. 

The first hardware store was that of 
P. A. Floodin, who also owned the first 
blacksmith shop. 

The first Notary Public was D. L. Car- 
penter. 

The first harness shop was operated by 
Frank Case. 

The first meat market was opened by 
Kopietz & Marak, in 1875. 

The first school house, near Leona, 
met with a tragic and unique end. School 
was taught in it in 1867, and when the 
fall terni of the next year was to begin it 
was discovered that some enterprising 
spirit had stolen the house bodily. It 
was tracked to a point near Padonia, in 
Brown county, but was never recovered. 
In the fall 1868, what was then known as 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



55 



the old school house, was built, and in it 
school was taught up to 1879, when it 
was sold to John Kaufman to be used as 
a barn. The third school house was com- 
pleted in October, 1879, at a cost of 
$2,300. Its size is 28x48 feet. The lirst 
teachers, in the new building, were R. 
L. Teague and Miss Nannie Nesbit. In 
1880-81, Charles Bowers and Miss Em- 
ma Plank were the teachers, and in 1882, 
Misses Nannie Nesbit and Augusta Par- 
sons were engaged; the same teachers 
taught in 1883. In 1884, Miss Francis 
Katner and Miss Parsons. In 1885, 
there was only one teacher, R. W. N or- 
ris, who had nearly sixty pupils enrolled. 
In 1886, Oliver Sarber and Miss Alice 
Brown were the teachers. In 1887, G. 
Watkins and Miss Ida Gouglar. In 1888, 
W. H. Speck and Mrs. C. E. Hoover. 
In 1889, W. H. Speck and Miss Mary 
Hill. In 1890, W. H. Speck and Miss 
Lizzie Brown. 

Leona has but one church which was 
built in 1886, at a cost of $2,000. Be- 
fore it was built church was held in the 
upper room of the school house, every 
two weeks, by Reverend Kloss. 

In 1885, Leona had a good library of 
nearly two hundred volumes. The library 
was open every Tuesday and Sunday 
evenings. Miss Ida Gouglar was libra- 
rian. The books were free to those liv- 
ing in town, the institution being sup- 
ported by entertainments. 

The I- O. O. F. have a lodge of about 
thirty members. They hold their meet- 
ings in the town hall every Saturday 
night. 



Leona has had several literary societies. 
She also had a skating rink in the fall of 
1884, but the building association found 
that it was ruining the iloor, and it 
was closed. 

The first fire in Leona was a small af- 
fair, destroying only the residence of 
Mr. Hartzell, in 1879. The second fire 
caused a serious loss to the town, and at 
one time threatened the destruction of 
the entire town. It broke out in the 
hardware store of P. A. Floodin, be- 
tween 11 and 12 o'clock on the night of 
May 1, 1882. The third fire occurred in 
March, 1883, and resulted in the entire 
destruction of the grain elevator of J. B. 
Price. The elevator was an entire loss 
as there was no insurance. January 7, 
1896, four buildings were destroyed by 
fire. The buildings burned were the 
hotel, Scott's drug store, the postofiice 
building and Dr. J. I. Hartley's ofiice. 

The pride of Leona, is her Farmers' 
State Bank, organized in 1895. The 
present ofticers are: J. D. Hazen, presi- 
dent; George Kimmel, vice-president; A. 
O. Delaney, cashier; P. M. Leonhard 
and O. Larsen, directors. 

Business houses represented in the ad- 
vertising columns of the Hustler: Mc- 
Cormick Brothers, grain dealers; Farm- 
ers' State Bank of Leona; R. G. Harper, 
live stock dealer; E. A. Kinsley, black- 
smith; J. I. Hartley, M. D.; J. W. 
Robinson, contractor and builder; Leon- 
hard Brothers, druggists; J. Ritterbush, 
general merchandise; Hendren's harness 
shop; E. Moyer, hardware; C. N. Willis, 
lumber; Gregg Brothers, grain; W. F. 



66 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



Cook, restaurant. The population is 
about 25Cf. 

Leona is an excellent grain market, 
and the merchants are wide-awake and 
progressive. Scores of the wealthiest 
farmers in the county have their homes 
in this neighborhood. A number of the 
best Fourth of July celebi'ations ever 
held in the county are to the credit of 
this energetic little town. 



Bendena. 

The Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska 
railroad was graded through the county 
in the summer of 1886. Early in the 
fall track-laying was finished and people 
began riding on the new road. Three 
stations were located in Wolf River 
township — Albers, Denton and Purcell. 
The first of these, of which we now shall 
give a history, received its name from 
John Albers, a most worthy pioneer in 
the neighborhood, who owned the land 
on which it was located, and who marked 
off about twelve acres in the southwest 
corner of the southeast quarter of sec- 
tion .33, town 3, range 20, and divided it in- 
to lots to be sold at $25 each. For a short 
time only was the town known as Albers. 
When Uncle Sam was asked to establish 
a postoffice here, he rejected the name 
"Albers", for the very good reason that 
there were other names of postoffices in 
the state of Kansas that might be easily 
confused with Albers. Many names 
were suggested, but a young man named 
Morgan, who was the first telegraph 
operator at the station, crept into the 



good graces of the "powers that be", and 
was permitted to immortalize the name 
of his sweetheart by having the town and 
postoffice n mu d for her. The name being 
a beautiful one, full of sweet vowels, it 
was well rectived, and the young opera- 
tor ascended to the top notch of mundane 
bliss; but the romance did not end ro- 
mantically, for the agent married another 
woman. 

Bendena lies in the heart of one of the 
richest farming tracts in the Missouri 
valley. The townsite is an ideal one, 
situated as it is on the crest of a range 
of hills of splendid elevation, and com- 
manding an almost unobstructed view of 
more than half the county. From the 
first it has been an enterprising grain and 
stock market, and now is made up of en- 
ergetic business men and a good class of 
citizens. The trade line is not limited, 
the merchants being alive and ambitious, 
reaching far and wide for patronage that 
is retained by methods of fair dealing 
and the exchange of honest goods at liv- 
ing prices. There is no citizen of Ben- 
dena, who may not be justly proud of 
the town, and no neighbor whose love 
and praise are not for it. 

FRAGMENTS . 

A man named O'Brien, who lived in a 
shanty on what now is the Wm. SchwaV) 
farm, near Bendena, kept a barrel of 
whiskey for the boys in the dry days of 
1857-60. He had a very good looking 
young wife who used to help him dispose 
of his far famed elixir at a handsome 
profit. It was said that their marriage 
had been a romantic one; that they had 
eloped on a mule by the light of a sum- 



GRAY'S DOMPHAN COUI^TY HISTORY. 



6^ 



mer moon, he on the saddle holding her 
bridal dress, she behind on a gunny sack 
holding to her future husband. At any 
rate O'Brien's wife was a fortunate pos- 
session. Because of her winning way 
and her fair face she was a good drawing 
card. She could sell a dozen pints and 
get the money for thera while her hus- 
band was convincing one customer that 
the stuff was equal in quality to that to 
be had in St. Joseph. 

■ In 1859, or thereabout, David Morse, 
now of Oklahoma, began the manufacture 
of brooms at his farm house, half a mile 
west of Prairie Grove, on the farm which 
is now the property of VVm. Webb, jr. 
He made very good brooms for which he 
charged 25 cents each. 

The pioneers of the Prairie Grove 
country used to tell a good story of the 
absentmindedness of Charley Phillips, 
the jjlanter of the famous grove that 
shaded his home from the parching sun 
of the '608. Mr. Phillips owned a store 
in Doniphan during the early days, and all 
the settlers of eastern Wolf River town- 
ship were customers of his, with their ac- 
counts on his books. One day a number of 
them were gathered in his store. Phillips 
was sending out statements of accounts. 
Rising from his desk he came back to the 
stove where his customers were seated ab- 
sorbing the genial smiles of the big and 
generous tempered wood stove and con- 
ducting with more or less vigor a politic- 
al debate. "Can any of you gentlemen 
tell me," he asked absentmindedly, 
"what Jeremiah Dooley's first name is?" 
Instantly the laugh was on him, and 



there was nothing left for him to do but 
set out the glasses and work the spigot. 

Along in the middle '60s, one of the 
most treacherous mud-holes along the 
Pottawatomie trail from St. Joseph west, 
was in the hollow just southwest of town, 
where the cross-roads are now located. 
Many an ox-driver swore himself hoarse 
at this place, and stood for a moment on 
the brink of despair, while his animals 
floundered in the mire. Another infa- 
mous mud-hole was on what is now the 
Schwab farm, one-half mile east of town. 
A. B. Dickens, who lives south of town, 
was a freighter along this tx-ail along 
about 1866, and well remembers these 
mudholes and the difficulties encountered 
by the early plainsmen. 

A Bendena man has in his possession 
the sole of a shoe worn by him when he 
was a five-year-old baby. The shoes were 
made in Doniphan in 1869, by F. C. 
Hahan. The sole is exceedingly thick 
and heavy, and the heel, broad and high, 
is filled with large, long, zinc nails which 
made the stoe a load to carry. 

According to the testim'ony of men of 
veracity the largest snake ever killed in 
the county, was found by a party of 
hunters on the prairie some distance south- 
west of Praire Grove, in the summer of 
18(51 or 1862. When straightened out 
alongside a sixteen foot rail, the snake 
was found to be only a few inches short- 
er than the rail. It was a bull snake. 

The first play ever given on an erected 
stage in the Bendena neighborhood was 
"The Charcoal Burner", presented Satur- 
day night, January 15, 1881, at the 



58 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



Prairie Grove school house with John J. 
Baker as manager, and the cast of char- 
acters as follows: 



Edmund Esdale, 
Valentine Verdict, . 
Matthew Esdale, . 
Poynet Arden, . 
Caleb Brown, . 
Godfrey Harrington, 
Edith Harrington, 
Old Mother Grumble, 
Barbara Jones, . . 



Willie Kilkenny 

. James H. Ryan 

. . . Pat Gray 

. John J. Baker 

. Dennis Delaney 

Victor J^adwig 

Kate E. Delaney 

. Etta Robins 

. Maggie Delaney 



In addition to this drama two farces 
were given — "Turn Him Out" and 
"Poor Pillicody" — in which the follow- 
ing named girls together with some of 
the above named, took part: Celia Kil- 
kenny, Rosa Lyons, and MoUie Delaney. 
A second series of plays was given Feb- 
ruary 25 and 26, in which all of the 
above and a few new players took part. 
The new plays rendered were, "We're 
All Teetotalers", "Michael Earle," and 
"Sarah's Young Man". The new players 
were, John M. Robbins, George Camp- 
bell, in "Teetotaler"; John Kirwin, in 
"Michael Earle," and Nancy Gray in 
"Sarah's Young Man". 

The first man to open a store here 
was Bill McLin, of Brenner, who built a 
small "shack" in the summer of 1886. It 
was located on the lot now occupied by 
the store building belonging to Mrs. J. 
B. Severin. One night in the fall of the 
same year, this building was burned, the 
tire being caused by the upsetting of a 
lamp. McLin, whose custom it had been 
to sleep in the building, narrowly escaped 
being burned to death, his life having 
been saved by some young men who 
broke in the door and dragged the help- 



less man out, but not a moment too soon. 
The store and all its contents were de- 
stroyed. Thus ended the business career 
in Bendena, of the town's first merchant. 

The first building was the depot, erect- 
ed in the summer of 1886. 

The first dwelling was erected by Peter 
Pillods in the fall of 1886. He had his 
choice of lots and selected two of the 
best in the townsite. 

The next improvement was the erection 
of scales by J. W. Howard, the pioneer 
grain man. These scales stood a few rods 
southwest of the depot. For a time there 
was not a great quantity of grain shipped, 
but the scales were not permitted to rust. 
The boys and girls came up from school 
every day through the tall grass and 
weeds of the townsite to be weighed, and 
they always found Mr. Howard accom- 
modating. 

In the fall of 1886, Victor E. Lad wig 
and John B. Severin erected the store 
building now occupied by J. P. Severin, 
and put in a thousand dollar stock of mer- 
chandise. The firm instantly won a good 
patronage, drawing considerable trade 
from the country south of town, which 
had been tributary to Atchison. It was 
an inspiring sight to see a score of grain 
and hog wagons in town and this single 
store tilled with eager customers. Mr. 
Ladwig soon withdrew from the firm and 
Dennis P. Delaney became the partner 
of John Severin. Late in the fall of 1888, 
Delaney & Severin moved their stock of 
goods lo Severance, and Bendena had its 
first attack of blues. There was little 
business in to^\n that winter, the black 



GRAY'S DONIPHAK COUISTY HISTORY 



59 



siuitli shop of Jake Bastian being the only 
headquarters for visitors. It was feared 
for a short time that Uncle Sam would 
discontinue the postoffice, it being a diffi- 
cult matter to secure a man who w^ould 
assume the responsibilities of attending 
to the distribution of the mail. .lake 
Bastian, the good natured blacksmith, ac- 
cepted the position for a short time, and 
we distinctly remember the big, black 
thumb-marks he left on the letters he 
handed out to Uncle Sam's patrons. A 
few months later, in March, 1889, John 
Albers was appointed postmaster. Pat 
Gray put in a stock of goods in the Lad- 
wig & Severin building, and Mr. Albers 
made him assistant postmaster. In Au- 
gust, 1889, Gray & Morgan — storekeep 
er and depot agent — established the 
Bendena Echo, which soon reached a cir- 
culation of about seventy-five or eighty. 
The paper was soon discontinued, but the 
types were not left to rest in idle repose. 
Gray printed and bound his book, "But- 
terflies and Roses", between calls of cus- 
tomers. In 1890, J. M. Wilson bought 
a half interest in the store, but soon sold 
out to E. Morgan. Gray & Morgan 
operated the store until July, 1891, when 
it passed into the hands of Morgan & 
Campbell. About 1893, it again changed 
hands, coming into the possession of J. 
B. Severin, who operated it until the 
time of his death, in October, 1899. For 
a short time afterward Mrs. Severin had 
charge, but not desiring to continue the 
business, she disposed of the stock of 
goods to J. P. Severin, who is the pres- 
ent proprietor with an encouraging pat- 
ronage. 



Councilman & Company erected an ele- 
vator about 1890. It soon changed 
hands, passing into control of C. E. Mil- 
ler. In 1893, it became the proper- 
ty of John B. Severin, a man of 
great energy and courage, whose labors 
for the advancement of the town will 
ever be remembered with gratitude by 
the citizens and the town's neighbors. 
In October, 1899, John Severin died and 
his wife sold the elevator to Peter Sev- 
erin, the present owner. 

A postoffice was established at Albers 
Station and named Bendena February 
20, 1887, with V. E. Ladwig postmaster. 

The first blacksmith was Jake Bastian, 
from Atchison. He came in 1887 and 
did a lively business for a few years. His 
shop stood just west of Severin's store. 

One of the most distressing fatalities 
that ever fell upon a family in this coun- 
ty came in December, 1890, when four 
members of the Delaney family passed 
away at Bendena. John Delaney, the 
father, passed away on the 18th. His 
wife died a few days later, and on the 31st 
of the month two of the elder sons, John 
and Daniel, followed their parents to the 
grave, thus making four deathi? in the 
family within twelve days. Maggie Red- 
mond, a relative of the family, lay sick 
in the house during and after the sick- 
ness of those that died, but she tinally re- 
covered. Typhoid-pneumonia was the 
cause of the deaths. 

In 1890, a pleasant party was had at 
the school house on May day. Two 
queens, Myrtle Brown and Evie Kir wan, 
were chosen to reign. The pupils 



60 



GKAY'S DOMPliAK C()U^TY HISTORY 



inarched from tlie school house to the 
shade of Mr. Howard's grove, and there 
in the beauty and quiet of the noon hour 
did they assemble to make preparations 
for the double coronation. Myrtle re- 
ceived a crown of plum blossoms and 
Evie, her sister queen, wore one com- 
posed of apple blossoms. After the cor- 
onation of the pretty little queens all sat 
down on nature's carpet of grass to eat a 
royal dinner. After dinner followed sing- 
ing, dancing, marching and homage pay- 
ing to the fair little crown bearers, until 
1 o'clock when the teacher, Mr. Clem, 
rang the bell for school. 

James Aylward was an early property 
owner in the town. He purchased lots 
in 1890, and erected a store room, which 
was rented to different parties. In 1903, 
he opened a restaurant which he still 
owns and operates. 

Early in the fall of 1890, the Bendena 
Dramatic Company was organized to 
produce "Psyche, the Beggar Venus". 
The company was composed of six young 
men and three young ladies, who came 
together almost every night to rehearse 
the play and erect air castles in the land 
of the future. On the night of Novem- 
ber 15, the company broke the ice at 
Severance, playing to a 196 house and 
giving great satisfaction. Thus encour- 
aged, the trouj>e decided to visit other 
towns. The play was reproduced at 
Troy, Watiiena, Brenner and Doniphan, 
with the best of results. Three or four 
years later, .responding to the urgent and 
repeated requests to reproduce the play, 
the company again went the rounds, 
meeting with the most gratifying suc- 



cess. This company was a party of jolly 
good girls and boys, each possessing a 
fair share of real stage talent, not stage 
struck, but going in for a share of fun, 
glory and — well, the company earned 
something like $300 within two weeks! 
From an old programme we reprint the 
cast of characters. 

Psyche, the Beggar Venus, Clara Brown 
Roger Buckingham, . . P. L. Gray 
Lady Shirley, . . . Mamie Campbell 
Lady Romelda, . . . Florence Albers 
Viscount St. Aubrey, L. W. Campbell 

Ivan, A. O. Delaney 

Baron Wilanski, . , . . J. Z. Clem 

Felix, E. Morgan 

Father Alphonse, . . . J. B. Severin 

In the summer of 1890, a 25-foot boat 
was built here by J. F. Bastian, for use 
on Independence creek during the tish- 
fry-picnic season. About that time there 
was a big fish pond on the Ladwig farm 
a mile east of town; this was the scene of 
the launching and christening of the 
"Minnehaha". Fully a hundred people, 
old and young, were there that beautiful 
moonlight night, and a more pleasant 
evening never was spent in this neigh- 
borhood. The boat, ladened with some 
fifteen or twenty passengers, was cap- 
sized in the middle of the pond, where 
the water was nearly chin deep, and 
many a young fellow took advantage of 
the opportunity to perform the heroic 
act of saving the life of his sweetheart, 
only to have some other fellow marry 
her in after years. 

In the early '90s, the town had an In- 
dian iiihabitant — Sam Jewett — who could 
tell as good corn-husking stories as any 
white man. He belonged to a Dakota 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



61 



tribe of Indians, and went up to that 
country about 1896 to claim a share in 
their lands. 

The first death in town was that of John 
Kosman, a Prussian, who lived just across 
the street from where the hotel is now lo- 
cated. The first child born in town was 
Gracie Bastian, in 1887. This is the lit- 
tle girl whose life was saved by the hero- 
ic act of W. J. Edwards, who snatched 
the child up from the railroad track where 
she was playing, just in time to prevent 
a freight train from mangling her. 

Gabriel Gerardy opened a blacksmith, 
shop about 1894. He was a first class 
machinist and had the instinct and am- 
bition of an inventor. An invention of 
his, a disc sharpener, is now about to be 
patented. 

In 1896 a hotel was built, and the town 
began to feel the first aspirations of am- 
bition. For a time F. W. Reipen was 
proprietor of the place. In 1905 it be- 
came the property of J. C. Albers. Dur- 
ing the summer it was operated by Mrs. 
Callaway, but Mr. Albers expects to take 
charge early in the falL 

The first telephone line, owned by the 
Northwestern, reached the town in 1896. 
Shares were owned by the merchants and 
farmers. In 1902, the first Farmers' line 
was extended out of town. Within a few 
months other lines were extended. At 
present there are twenty-five lines con- 
nected with the board. The very first 
telephone line in the town was one con- 
structed of two cigar boxes and a coil of 
binder wire connecting the postoffice with 
the depot. It was put up by Gray & Mor- 
gan in 1889, and did very good service. 



In 1896 the merchants and the farmers 
built a creamery. The Continental Com- 
pany soon took control and operated it 
for some time. At first it seemed a pay- 
ing business, but poor management made 
it unprofitable. In 1903, J. (/. Albers, 
purchased the building and was rebuild- 
ing it to be used as a dwelling when, in 
December of the same year it was burn- 
ed. The origin of the tire is not known. 

"Bound by an Oath," a second play by 
the Bendena Dramatic Company, was 
presented in many of the county towns, 
in April, 1896, with unusual success. 

In the summer of 1899 the big railroad 
well was dug here. It is one of the larg- 
est railroad wells on the line, the dimen- 
tions being : diameter, 24 feet ; depth, 
80 feet. It is substantially walled with 
brick and the tank has a capacity of about 
55,000 gallons. The supply of water 
is inexhaustible. The water is pure and 
sweet. The tank stands on the divide 
between the headwaters of Wolf River 
and Independence creek. 

A big celebration was held here July 4, 
1899, with about 2000 people in attend- 
ance. This was the little town's first 
Fourth celebration, and she did herself 
much honor. All visitors were well en- 
tertained and cared for, and many friends 
were made for the town. 

One of General Grant's relatives sleeps 
beneath the sod of this county — John 
Valmore Hudson — who died at this place 
December 12, 1899. He was "the gener- 
al's first cousin, and had been a resident 
of the county for more than 25 years. 
He had seen trouble and his life had 



62 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



been full of adventure. He served in the 
Mexican war. From Mexico he went to 
the California gold fields, but finding no 
fortune awaiting him there, lie wended 
his way eastward until he reached Kansas 
where he was satisfied to remain. He 
was extremely modest in speaking of him- 
self or his doings, but occasionally when 
in good humor he would give glowing 
accounts of his experiences in the "Greas- 
er war." He was present at the capture 
of Santa Anna, and was one of the boys 
that kicked poor old Santa up out of the 
grass where he had been hiding. Al- 
though nearly blind from the effect of a 
wound on the nose received in battle, he 
was an enthusiastic reader. He was not 
especially proud of his illustrious relative, 
because of some trouble he had had with 
him. Hudson lies in a neglected grave 
in the cemetery at Moray, with '^only a 
wooden slab at his head," but those who 
knew him as "old Uncle Johnny" will 
long remember him as a good and honest 
old man, who had a- long and weary 
march through life with not a relative to 
help him on the way. 

December 27, 1900, a big fire started 
in the lumber yard of Rappelye and 
Brother. A strong wind was blowing 
from the north and within a short time 
the shed and some small office buildings 
were reduced to ashes. Rappelye's loss 
was estimated at about $5000, about two 
thirds of which was covered by insurance. 
The Rappelyes were wide awake business 
men. This blow to them was the prime 
cause of their leaving town. , 

In 1902 a side track half a mile in 
length was built for the accommodation 



of passing trains. It is no unusual sight 
to see three or four trains at this place, 
at the same time. 

Rural Route No. 1 was established in 
1902, with George Swartz carrier. This 
was a great convenience to the farmers 
south of town who for many years had 
been obliged to depend on neighbor mail 
service by which the entire neighborhood 
received mail through the kindness of 
some man who had business in town. 

The Rock Island road has inany a 
small but pretty grass plot under the 
windows of its depots, but few of them 
are more attractive and beautiful than 
the tiny park laid out and lovingly cared 
for by agent O. B. Monroe. 

The present business men of Bendena 
are: J. P. Severin, general merchandise; 
H. L. Vanverth, hardware; O. C. Hardy, 
drugs; R. R. Clutz, M. D.; W. C. Albers, 
lumber; Tony Schroeder, general mer- 
chandise; James Aylward, confectioner; 
VY. J. Edwards, barber shop and notions; 
Tilbury and Son, blacksmiths; J. C. Al- 
bers, livery ; The Bendena State Bank, 
and The Roy croft Shop, P. L.Gray. 



UNION TOWNSHIP. 

In June, 1878, a new township was cre- 
ated out of the territory of Wolf River 
township, and called Union. This town- 
ship contains 36 square miles and occu- 
pies the south western corner of the coun- 
ty. Within its boundaries are most ex- 
cellent farm and pasture lands. Inde- 
pendence has its rise here, in this region 
of never-failing springs. It is the banner 
stock raising township, especial attention 
being given to the raising of hogs — fine 



GRAY\S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



63 



whopping fellows — the equals of which 
are scarcely to be found in the West. 

The history of Union is so closely wov- 
en with that of Wolf River that they 
stand today in the relationship of mother 
to married daughter. 

FBA«MENT8. 

The "Barlow Boys," acquired wide- 
spread notoriety during the early eighties 
by their bad behavior in both Doniphan 
and Brown Counties. They were hard 
drinkers and reckless shooters. Raid af- 
ter raid was made by them on the small 
towns. For a time they were permitted 
to pay their tines and and go free ; but 
the long suffering public lost its patience 
and the "toughs" were brought to time. 
The fact that they were very cowards was 
proved one day in Severance when a man 
named Miller took a few stones and bat- 
tered and scattered the four of them. On 
the evening of April 18, 1883, they made 
a raid on Normanville, demanding liquor 
which Mr. Normile had been in the cus- 
tom of keeping in his small grocery store 
in a room adjoining the room in which 
the post office was kept. They got into 
a row with William Normile. Mrs. Nor- 
mile, his mother, came to his assistance, 
jittempting to hold the door shut to keep 
out the assailants, when "the boys" be- 
gan firing their pistols into the door and 
windows. One ball passed through Mrs. 
Normile's ear and lodged in her head. 
They ended by robbing the post oflSce of 
money and stamps. A day or two after 
this they were arrested. The "boys" — 
Tom, Jim, and Ed.— made no resistance. 
Ijater they were handed over to the gov- 
erniiient authorities. The eastern papers 



made much of the boys, classing them 
with the James Boys and giving extend- 
ed and glowing, but greatly exagerated 
accounts of their depredations. The Po- 
lice Gazette, the literary vulture, printed 
their pictures with a highly colored ac- 
acount of the raid on Normanville, and 
we recollect that many copies of the pap- 
er were purchased and read by people 
wishing to see how "the Boys" appeared 
in print. 

On September 10, 1888, eight wheat 
stacks belonging to John Green, of this 
Township, and containing a thousand 
bushels of wheat were destroyed by fire 
caused by a spark from a threshing engine. 

Centenarian Edward Heeney died at 
the home of his daughter-in-law, Mrs. 
Bernard Heeney, near Denton, July 12, 
1901, aged 103 years, having lived in 
three centuries. All his long life he had 
been a stranger to sickness. He despised 
to ride in a vehicle, choosing to walk, 
unless the distance was altogether too 
great. Perhaps he went more miles on 
foot during his quarter of a century of 
existence in Kansas than any other man 
that ever lived in the state. 



Denton. 

Denton was laid out October 27, 1886, 
by D. C. Kyle assisted by Moses, John, 
and William Denton. The townsite is a 
beautiful one, and the surrounding count- 
ry is the pride and wealth of northeastern 
Kansas. During the early nineties the 
little town enjoyed a most healthy boom, 
stores and dwellings springing up like 
May flowers. It began a friendly race 



64 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



with Bendena toward the goal of pros- 
perity. This race still continues, and at 
present the racers appear to be about 
neck to neck. The town has two church- 
es and a good school. 

Some early settlers in the neighborhood : 
John B. Gronniger,1856; R. P. Shulsky, 
1858 ; Nicholas Delzeit, 1859; John Nor- 
mile, 1860; Peter McNulty, 1860; John 
Riley, 1066; Wm Denton, 1865; D. W. 
Edwards, 1868; J. S. Byers, 1869; Geo. 
Chaney, 1870; Geo. Denton, 1873. 

FRAGMENTS. 

Wm. Kirby, of the Doniphan neigh- 
borhood, erected the tirst store, in' the 
fall of 1886. 

The tirst dwelling was built and occu- 
pied by E. Callaway, who was also the 
first carpenter. 

"^riie tirst blacksmith in town was Tom 
Gritfis who opened a shop in 1887. 

One of the very early grain dealers 
was James Bundage, about the same time. 

The second store was opened by L. II. 
Priester. A hall Was built over the 
store soon afterwards. 

Diiviil Schnee opened the first meat 
market in 1888. 

Seward McConnell came in 1889 with 
a stock of general merchandise. 

The tirst pliysician was Dr. Stewart, 
who was also tlie pro|>rietor of the iirst 
drug store, lie came about 1889 witli 
his little black grip in his hand. 

In the fall of 1898 more than forty car 
loads of apples were shipped from this 
point. The price paid was $2.50 a bar- 
rel. The apples were extra fine. 



E. Callaway was one of the mail carri- 
ers between Severance and Kennekuk, in 
the early eighties. 

The town is situated near the site of 
the old stage station, Syracuse, on the 
Pottawatomie trail, where the Vickerys 
kept store early in the '60s supplying 
neighbor and traveller with bacon, brown 
sugar, and what is said to have been a 
fine quality of a certain elixir usually 
contained in a little brown jug. 

It was while he was a resident of Den- 
ton that Wm. Kirby published his inter- 
esting book on Mormonism. 

Business houses: Bank of Denton; Tom 
Gritfis, blacksmith ; J. E. Stepp, M. D.; 
Len Roberts, hard^Vare; W. II. Pennebak- 
er, general merchandise; S. h. Denton, 
meat market; Cummings and Elliott, live 
stock; Charles Murray, general merchan- 
dise; I. S. Piny erd, contractor and builder. 



Purcell. 

This little town came into existence 
about the time Bendena and Denton were 
born. It at once became a good shipping- 
point for the farmers who had long been 
obliged to haul their grain to distant 
points. It is not likely that the town 
will ever develop into a city, but it will 
always remain "a handy little place to 
have on the map." The farmers in the 
neighborhood are among the wealthiest 
in the county. One of the finest church 
buildings in northeastern Kansas is St. 
Maiy's near this place, erected about 1898. 

Patrick Shaughnessy, John Whelan, 
Patrick Brady, John Purcell, David 
Whelan, Peter Reichenberger and Kasper 
Troll were some of the earlier settlers. 



GRAY'S DONIPHAK COUKTY HISTORY. 



65 



CENTRE TOWNSHIP. 

Centre Township was organized Octo- 
ber 21, 1856, out of the western portions 
'of Washington and Bun-Oak townships. 
The surface is mostly rough and broken, 
especially those portions lying north and 
east of Troy. Much good, comparative- 
ly level land lies in the western portion. 
Three streams find their source near the 
center of the township. They are : Mos- 
quito creek, l^eter's creek, and Cotton- 
wood branch. The township contains 
61 square miles, and some of the Hnest 
vineyards and berry fields in the county 
are within its boundaries. 

FKA'iMKNTS. 

The first marriage in the township was 
that of John Grantield and Nancy Jane 
Edwards, which occurred on Christmas 
Day, 1854, the ceremony being perform- 
ed by Rev. S. M. Irvin, of the Mission. 
At that time there were only four fami- 
lies in the neighborhood, but all were in- 
vited to the wedding, and of course "ev- 
erybody was there." 

The first death occurring in the town- 
ship was that of N. Carter, who died of 
cholera, September 8, 1856. 

liev. H. Maxwell, a Methodist minis- 
ter from Doniphan, held the first relig- 
ious services in the fall of 1856, at the 
home of H. Calvert. 

One of the first saw mills in the town- 
ship was built at Lafayette, in 1856, by 
a man named Lyman ; but it ran for a 
short time only. 

Early in 1857 Mrs. Brown taught the 
first school in 'IVoy. 



In the same year J. F. Kotsch kept a 
small provision store on his j»lace on the 
old trail just south east of town. 

The township lias three railroads and 
about 25 miles of track. 

Three brothers, Jacob, John and Lew- 
is Zimmerman built a threshing machine 
at their home south west of J'roy, in the 
early sixties. The inacAunc. was made up 
of the good parts of many old and worn 
out machines so well put together that it 
gave good satisfaction. 'J'he brothers 
threshed nearly all the grain in the neigh- 
borhood with this machine. In those 
days the capital of a corporation would 
have l)een required to purchase a new 
threshing outfit, but th(^ patience and in- 
genuity of these nien gave to the neigh- 
borhood a "separator" almost as good as 
new. The fact of the machine's being 
constructed of the bones of old machines 
gathered from all points of the compass 
did not worry the farmer, because the 
work done \)y it was quite satisfactory. 
The Uoniphan county man has always 
been resourceful. Whatever. he stood in 
need of he was bound to l)ave. If he could 
not buy it, he made it, whether it were a 
threshing machine or a ten-penny nail. 

Grace Bedell, the little girl who asked 
Atjraham Lincoln to let his whiskers 
grov/, grew up and was lost to public 
view until John Carrol Power, a iJoni- 
phan county man owning the "Bony" 
Wood place near Troy in 1868, discover- 
ed her at Delphos, Kansas. She was 
married to a Mr. Billings. 

A Mr. Newton was cleaning out a nine- 
ty foot well on the Ab. Kent farm near 



ce 



GRArS DOKIPHA^' COUNTY HISTORY. 



Troy, in July, 1867. When he was about 
ten feet from the bottom the well caved 
in on him and held him fast. A great 
many people gathered around to dig (»nt 
the supposed dead man. They worked 
about twenty tive hours at the end of 
whi(^h time Mr. Newton was taken out 
conscious, and with the exception of a 
few bruises, sound and well. 

On Monday afternoon, April 29, dur- 
ing the heavy rain which fell here, a ter- 
rible whirlwind, or tornado, passed over 
a narrow strip of country between this 
place and Wathena. The wind covered 
a track of not more than fifty or sixty 
feet in width, and its power was most 
fearful, and its effect destructive. The 
new frame house of a family named Doms 
living some three or four miles down the 
Wathena road, and a house near by be- 
longing to a Mr. McClellan, were com- 
pletely blown away. All the children of 
the Doms family were more or less injured 
though not seriously, but Mrs. Doms re- 
ceived injuries from which she died on 
the morning of May 3, 1872. —Troy Re- 
porter. 

In March, 1875, a wild cat weighing 
40 pounds, measuring four feet two inches 
from tip of nose to end of tail, was kill- 
ed on Mosquito creek. 

.lames K. Gibbons, a resident of this 
township, is one of the few men now 
living in the county who saw the great 
flood in the Missouri river, in the spring 
of 1844. I'e was then a boy of nine and 
witnessed the flood from the Missouri 
shore. 

October 6, 1881, a prominent citizen of 



Troy had a tine blooded boar at the Fair 
which for size and other good qualities, 
took several premiums. The anima) was 
literally decked with blue ribbons from 
ears to tail. At the close of the Fair the 
owner started to drive his pork home, 
with a rope tied to his hind leg. Just as 
they got on the bridge crossing the rail- 
road, a freight train came thundering a- 
long underneath. The hog made frantic 
efforts to run, and the owner braced him- 
self and held on, the rope wearing blist- 
ers on his hands. As the caboose passed 
from underneath the bridge, the hog gave 
a loud "woosh," and leaped off, falling 
flat upon the hard track twenty feet be- 
low, and bursting himself like a rotten 
pumpkin. "O, God! there goes my hog," 
exclaimed the proprietor of the remains, 
as he gazed below, upon the shapeless 
mass of sausage meat, bristles, and blue 
ribbons. — Sol Miller. 



Troy. 

On the 12th of October, 1855, the town- 
site of Troy was located by three commis- 
sioners appointed for the purpose by the 
Territorial Legislature. A few days lat- 
er a survey was ordered, and eighty acres 
of land were laid off into town lots. The 
lots were offered for sale December 15th, 
of the same year, according to one re- 
port, while according to another report, 
the sale was not held until January 1st, 
1856. 

Troy not being closely surrounded by 
the best farm lands, has never been an 
advantageous point for the baying and 
shipping of grain. During tiie '60s there 
was no railroad, and after the building of 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



67 



the two roads in 1869 and 1870, the town 
found herself in the race with many of 
the young and vigorous rival towns situ- 
ated in the heart of the richest and best 
farm lands in the state. The first history 
of our county, published in 1868, said of 
of Troy : "That it will make a great city 
is not expected, but that it will maintain 
itself as one of the first towns of the 
county cannot be doubted." Time has 
proved that the early historian had his 
glasses properly adjusted. 

It is said that the town narrowly es- 
caped being named Saltillo. The com- 
missioners who located it in 1855 prom- 
ised to leave the naming of it to the lady 
with whom they were boarding; but when 
they selected the above name, the men 
winced and began to weaken. After a 
great deal of circumlocution they broke 
their promise, and substituted for Saltillo 
the name of Troy. The excuse they of- 
fered for the substitution was, that they 
were poor spellers and quite unable to 
spell Saltillo without looking on the book. 
The Trojans may thank the commission- 
ers for this; for, had the town received 
the Mexican name, sooner or later, the 
pet name of "Sal" or "Sally" would have 
been fixed upon it. 

The town lacks only two miles of be- 
ing the geographical center of the county. 

According to Smith and Vaughan, and 
Bird, the first house, a frame building, 
was erected in 1856; but Sol Miller's his- 
torical edition of the Chief states that 
the "first house erected in Troy was by 
Nelson Rodgers, in the spring of 1856." 
Take your choice. 



The stake marking the location of the 
county seat was driven within a few feet 
of where the court house is now building. 
On one side of the stake was written the 
names of the commissioners witli the date 
of locating, while on tlie other side was 
inscribed : "The County Seat of Doni- 
phan County on this quarter section." 

Troy has been the home and birth- 
place of ten newspapers. Late in 1858, 
the first paper, the Democrat, by Joseph 
Thompson, began its existence which, 
however, was very brief. The second 
was the Dispatch, established in the fall 
of 1860, by J. W. Biggers. It lived for 
about a year. The third was the Doni- 
phan County Patriot, a Jim Lane paper, 
edited by E. li. Grant. It began in Ap- 
ril, 186ii, and continued about two years. 
Tile fourth was an anti-Lane paper, the 
Investigator, started in 1864, and edited 
by H. C. Hawkins. It was short lived. 
The fifth was the Doniphan County Sol- 
dier, established 1865. It soon marched 
away. S. H. Dodge was its patriotic 
editor-in-chief. The sixth venture was the 
Reporter, established in 1'865, by Joseph 
H. Hunt. In 1867 it was removed to 
Wathena. The seventh was the Doni- 
phan County Republican, established by 
C. G. Bridges, 1868. This paper chang- 
ed hands many times, and in 1875 was 
gt.bblfd up by the Chief. The eighth 
was the Chief, which came down from 
White Cloud in July, 1872, and which 
is still reigning. The ninth was a sec- 
ond venture of C. G. Bridges, the Bulle- 
tin, began in 1877. It lasted about two 
years. The tenth, and latest up to date, 
was A. W. Beale's Times started in 1886. 



08 



GRAY'S DOKIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



After ;i "ciiockercd" career it was absoi'b- 
vd by Pool Giinstead's Times at Wathe- 
r,:i, about 1900. 

The first store was operated by Head 
and Earle, in 1856. 

One of the very first lawyers was Capt. 
A. Head, who tacked up his shingle in 
the same year. 

Two pioneer carpenters are named by 
the historians — A. Simonson and C. Cal- 
vert. 

A post office was established in 1856, 
with Captain Head as postmaster. The 
Captain never had the opportunity to 
read postal cards as they were not in use 
at that time. Other early postmasters 
were: C. Leland, Isaac Powers, George 
Wheeler, A. B. Burr, Antone Brenteno, 
and Daniel Bursk. 

Conners and Howell were the first to 
don the white apron to administer to the 
wants of the thirsty. 

The first hotel was opened by John 
"Wilson, about 1857. 

The first resident physician mentioned 
in the histories, was Dr. Payne, who ar- 
rived with his blue pills and black plast- 
ers in 1858. 

J. B. JSIaynard organized the first Sun- 
day sdiool in 1859, and was the lirst sup- 
erintentlent. 

The first shoe shop was opened in the 
same year by John Frank Kotsch. 

The first court house, which Sol. Mill- 
er called a "brick barn" was erected in 
1859, and was destroyed by fire in March, 
1867. In 1868, after a bitter county 



seat war, another court house was built 
near the ruins of the old one. In 1870, 
an 1800 jail was built near the court 
house, and is still in use. Until the 
building of the jail, prisoners were con- 
fined in the lower story of the court house. 

Joe I^ixon's cannon which stood in the 
court house yard for so many years was 
captured by Union men from Elwood 
from Jeff Thompson's soldiers in Miss- 
ouri. Nixon bought it and brought it 
to Troy. 

In the winter of 1862-3, two Jayhaw- 
kers, "Whitehead" and "Ridley", re- 
ceived their deserts at the hands of two 
citizens. Both were fatally shot, Riley 
dying immediately, while Whitehead, 
who was taken out of town by some 
friends, lived for some time. 

The Presbyterian church, which was 
begun in 1864 and finished in 1865, at a 
cost of about $2,500 was dedicated, Jan- 
uary 1. 1866, the services being conduct- 
ed by Rev. F. E. Sheldon, who remained 
as pastor until 1871. 

Early in 1866 a brass band was organ- 
ized. 

The first Methodist church was incorp- 
orated in 1866. For a time the court 
house and the school house had been used 
for preaching and meetings. The first 
preacher was Rev. A. Bennett, of W^olf 
River township, in 1858. 

Troy Lodge, A. F. & A. M., was or- 
ganized February 4, 1867. 

A brick school housi^ was begun in 
1867 and completed two years later. Pri- 
or to the erection of this building there 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



69 



had been a small one story house of a sin- 
gle room in which the school had been 
taught V>y F. Brown. A few of the early 
teachers in this school are here named : 
Lyman, Emmons, Barett, Woodworth, 
Daughters, Rose, Dinsmore, Cochran, 
Thompson. A third building now in use 
was erected a few years ago, and the 
town has good reason to be proud of it. 

Troy Lodge, No. 38, I. O. O. F., was 
organized September 23, 1868. 

In 1869 or 1870 David Morse began 
the manufacture of brooms. 

N. B. Wood came to Troy in 1869, 
and bought 6*7 acres of land. He com- 
menced his orchard in 1871, when he set 
out 600 trees. The next year he set out 
2,000 more. Ten years later, 1882, he 
had 160 acres of land and 13,000 trees, 
11,000 of which were bearing fruit. Of 
these, 1200 were Ben Davis, 4500 Wine 
saps, 1000 Missouri Pippins, 2000 Rals 
Jenet, or Gennettings, 500 Rambo, 750 
Willowtwigs, and 250 Dominie. The re- 
mainder was made up of Jonathans, Bell- 
flowers, Russets, etc. It was estimated 
that he raised and sold more than 10,000 
bushels of apples that year. 

In 1870 the first bank was opened by 
Henry and Louis Boder. Their place of 
business was a frame building which was 
destroyed by tire in 1872, and which was 
replaced by the present brick buiiding. 

Dr. F. C. Hoffmeier the first homoe- 
opathic physician in the county, began 
his practice here in 1871. 

At a fire in town in April, 1872, the 
women formed a "bucket brigade" and 
helped save the town. Credit for heroic 



work was given to the following ladies 
whose names were printed in the White 
Cloud Chief: Miss M. E. Stralian, Miss 
Julia I51akely, Mrs. Otto, Mihs Siglitary, 
Mrs. Lewis, and Miss Ellen DeLong. 

An engineer named Clauser attempted 
suicide while pinned under his derailed 
engine near the Ba'nner Mills, in Decem- 
ber, 1878. About a year before this, his 
wife and child received fatal injuries at 
the same place. 

Troy Lodge, No. 1317, Knights of Hon- 
or, was organized December 30, 1878. 

A "Buckeye Reunion" was held Octo- 
Vjer 3, 1878. The register was signed by 
356 Ohioans. 

Mrs. Ann Eliza Young, XlXth wife of 
Brigham Young, lectured here April 25, 

1879. 

In 1880, St. Charles' Catholic church 
was erected at a cost of about |! 1,000. 
There was then a membership of ah»out 
seventy-five. Rev. Father Timphaus was 
one of the first pastors. 

The Colored Missionary Baptist church 
was organized January 9, 1881, by Rev. 
Henry Bacon. I'here were but eight 
members. 

An American Auxiliary Branch of the 
National Land League of" Ireland was or- 
ganized here August 13, 1881. The oV>- 
ject of the League was to render moral 
and financial aid to the people of Ireland 
in their struggle against Landlordism. 

The W. C. T, U. was organized in 
March, 1882. 

Helloing over the telephone began here 



10 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTOKV 



iu the early part of December, 1885. 

At the Fourth of July celebration in 
1889, Thomas Davis, of near Fanning, 
the oldest man in the county, and the 
the oldest horse, belonging to J. W. 
Baldwin, near Troy, were attractions. 
Mr. Davis was in his ninety-fourth year. 
The horse was forty-tive. 

In January. 1894, a Charter was issued 
from Secretary of State's office, making 
the S. L. K. Library Association a body 
corporate with the following board of di- 
rectors: Laura B. Harley, Lelia Miller, 
Mrs. Mabel Campbell, Chloe L. Brown, 
and Minnie M. Schletzbaum. 

First officers of the society were: Pres- 
ident, Miss Eva Wood; vice president, 
Mellie Parker; secretary, Emma A. Ton- 
er; assistant secretary, Alice A. Amos; 
treasurer, Ida Byers ; assistant treasurer, 
Effie Bridges. 

In 1897, the 40-acre orchard of Ben 
Davis apples belonging to M. J. Kliue, 
made an extraordinary yield. A buyer 
from Waterloo, Iowa offered Mr. Khue 
$6,000 for the apples on the trees. Mr. 
Rhue shook his head, and his friends 
tsaid he was foolish; but the wisdom in 
his up})er story showed forth some days 
later when he sold 7500 barrels of the 
apples at about i!l.50 per barrel. Morde- 
cai just pocketed the money and smiled a 
beaming smile. 

Fire broke out in McClellan's hardware 
store on the morning of November 15, 
1899, and within the space of a few hours 
after the discovery of the first blaze, one 
third of the business part of the town 
was in ruins. The tire quickly spread 



from the hardware store to the opera 
house, an elegant brick structure which 
had cost $5000. A lively bucket brig- 
ade was formed, and 150 buckets were 
operated with speed and skill, but to no 
avail. The Iligby House, a large frame 
building, one of the landmarks of the 
town and tne county, took tire from the 
sparks falling from the blazing opera 
house, and soon was ablaze from founda- 
tion to roof. Jenkins' grocery store sit- 
uated near the Higby House, soon caught 
the flame and mingled its fury with that 
of the others. Leland's large brick store 
was partly burned, it being nearly fire 
proof. The St. Joseph fire department 
was sent for, and on its arrival, which 
was somewhat delayed, a line of hose was 
run from Hayton's pond a quarter of a 
mile from the scene of the fire, and a 
stream of water was poured on the blaz- 
ing buildings; but the assistance came 
too late to save the buildings. However, 
some residence buildings in the immedi- 
ate vicinity were saved by this help. The 
losses may be estimated: Opera House, 
$6,000; Iligby House, $2,000; Jenkins' 
grocery, $1,500; Doniphan County Bank, 
$600; Baker & Bell, Attorneys, library 
aiui office furniture in the McClellan 
building, $1,800. The total insurance 
was about one half the total loss. 

Saturday night, September 1, 1900, an 
attempt Avas made to burn the Court 
Housi-. The building was saved by the 
prompt action of the ofticials. 

Henry Wagenknecht, of Wathena, se- 
cured the contract for the building of 
the new court house which is now in 
course of erection, and which is expected 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



71 



to be ready for occupation by the Blind 
Goddess and her coterie of elKcient serv- 
ants, by June 1, 1906. Tiie cost will be 
about $40,000. It will be of stone and 
brick, with cornices of galvanized iron. 
A special levy was provided for by a bill 
passed by the legislature in 1903, which 
had been introduced by Cyrus Leland. 
There is not a citizen of the county 
who may not be justly proud of this new 
court house which will be one of the Hnest 
county buildings in the state. 

BVom the columns of the Chief we cull 
the names of the town's business men and 
business houses : The Chief, H. J. Cal- 
nan ; George McClaren, drugs; Helvey & 
Son, grocers ; Winzer & Klostermeier, 
hardware; Bank of Troy; Kemp & Cona- 
way, undertakers; D. C. Sinclair, drugs; 
Hotel Avon ; Sturgis & Sturgis, restaur- 
ant and confectioners ; Norman & Zim- 
merman, general merchandise, C. Leland, 
dry goods etc.; J. W. McClellan, hard- 
ware ; Chris Jenkinson, grocer ; George 
Hagenbach, general merchandise; Frank 
Hauber, restaurant; Nate Swiggett, rest- 
aurant; George Burkhalter, general mer- 
chandise; Clark Brothers, millers; Briggs 
and Chappie, meat market; W. A. Mor- 
gan, livery; E. Monroe, veterinary sur- 
geon; J. C. Myers, dentist; Wm. W. Min- 
ter, iiardware; A. L. Perry, abstract of 
titles; W. B. Campbell, M. D. ; R. S. 
Dinsmore, M. D.; Fleming & Lair, bar- 
bers; A. D. Jones, hard ware; Grant Sweet, 
barV>er shop; Elwood, photographer. 



Stray Notes. 

R. M. Lad wig, a Center township pio- 
neer now residing in St. Joseph, tells of 
an interesting scene witnessed Vjy him in 



the early days on the high prairies be- 
tween Troy and Syracuse — a train of 
government wagons live miles in length, 
each wagon drawn by a span of spanking 
big mules. Mr. J^adwig says the scene 
suggested to him the idea of a huge white 
snake gliding across the hills, its head 
nearing the horizon of the west while its 
tail wiggl(;d in the hazy hills of the east. 

Doniphan County may be proud of at 
least four talented artists whose drawings 
and paintings are ample proofs of genu- 
ine talent. Miss Lelia Miller's tine paint- 
ing happily illustrating her famous fath- 
ers quaint poem, "Paw-paws i.s Ripe," 
is well known, and her work adorns 
the walls of many admiring friends. Miss 
Lou Kelson is very skilful in the execu- 
tion of portraits. The excellent quality 
of her work has been acknowledged by 
competent judges of real art. Miss Lola 
Kelley, for many years a resident of this 
county, but now residing in St. Joseph, 
has an eager demand for all work coming 
from her brush or pencil. We are rather 
proud of our frontispiece picture which 
was designed and drawn by Miss Kelley 
especially for our History, and are glad 
to accord it the honor that it deserves. 
Miss Bessie Franklin, a Bendena young 
lady, is a real art worker. Her home is 
Hlled with beautiful portraits, landscapes 
and designs. She draws and paints for 
the pure pleasure it aflFords her, which is 
a true sign of artistic genius. 

J. M. Morley, owner of the bank of 
Severance, was the first banker in the 
county to make use of an electric bell ap- 
paratus for the protection of his bank 
from the acts of burglars. It seems to 



72 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



us that it would be an impossibility for 
any person or persons to make a success- 
ful raid on this bank. The apparatus pos- 
sesses almost human intelligence. Mr. 
Morley has done much to protect the in- 
terests of his hundreds of patrons, and 
his labors and careful consideration are 
duly appreciated by them. 

Rev. D. G. Saunders; of Stewartsville, 
Missouri, one of the county's piuueer 
Baptist ministers, is still laboring in the 
Lord's Vineyard, being in chai'ge of a 
Baptist congregation in southern AVolf 
River and western Wayne townships. The 
Independence Baptist church which was 
organized early in the sixties was reorgan- 
ized by him about 187 7. A church was 
built, but was destroyed by tire. A sec- 
ond church was erected and the good 
man continued his faithful labors with 
untiring zeal. In the early })art of his 
ministerial career in this state, JVIr. Saun- 
ders had charge of a wide scope of country 
embracing three or four of the. northeast- 
ern counties. He is a man of superior 
intelligence, broad minded, sociable, and 
kind, with a large circle of friends of all 
religious denominations both in Kansas 
and Missouri. 



Mrs. Samuel Dawson, of Iowa Point, 
is a great grand daughter of Voyageur 
Charboneau, cook and interpreter for the 
Lewis and C'lark expedition party up the 
Missouri river and over the Rocky mount- 
ains down to the Pacific coast, in 1804-6. 
Charboneau was the husband of the fa- 
mous Sacajawea, the Shoshone Indian 
girl, who led the great explorers across 
the rocky wilderness, preserving them 
from famine and the hostilities of un- 
friendly tribes of savages. Charboneau 
ransomed the brave and beautiful maiden 
from the Blackfeet who held her in cap- 
tivity, and made her his wife. She was 
loving and faithful. It is related of this 
noble woman that she saved from loss 
the Expedition party's journals which 
fell by accident into the icy waters of 
the upper Missouri. Being a woman of 
heroic courage and possessing the natural 
skill of a swimmer, she plunged into the 
rush of the ice laden water and rescued 
the papers from certain loss, thus preform- 
ing an act which should endear her name 
and memory to every citizen who loves 
the doer of a heroic deed. 



CHAPTER II. 



POETS AND POETRY. 



We here present a collection of verso written by Doniphan County writers, selected 
from the files of the county papers. Many of the writers here rej)ref)ented are n stives of 
the county. Others have had their birth in the different states, and a few were born in 
foreign lands, but all have resided here, and the selections presented were inspired and 
written in Doniphan County. 



Sai^IBAKS FROm TIIK SORGHUM 91 ILL. 



SOL. MILLER. 



Tune— "Villkins and his Dinah." 



As Martin was grinding some sorghum one day, 
The mill got to squeaking and thus seemed to say: 
Above sorghum, ttiere's that to which man 

shoud aspire; 
Does your heart never throb with some lofty 

desire? 
Ri tu ral, lal lu ral, ri tu ral, lal la. 

The commerce in sorghum's declining you 
know; 
The truck's a bit thin, and prices are slow; 
And when you have sold it from skimmings to 

dregs, 
'Twill scarce pay for the hoops on your cotton 
wood kegs. 

Chorus. 



I detected your darkies remarking to-day. 
They'd put up with less love, and a little more 

pay; 
'DLs friendship's a good ting, as far as it goes; 
But golly, it won't buy dc chillen no close. 
Cho. 

"A feather bed's good, if they had time to sleep; 
But midnight is I'eed time, and out they must 

creep; 
They mast hush from the mo.ment the sun shows 

its tip. 
And plow by the light of the dii) of a cheap tallow 

dip. 

Cho. 

"So Martin you'd better be changing your 

gait; 
Instead of this drudging from early to late. 
Take a high toned short cut after riches and 

fame— 
As a Christian and statesman build up a proud 

name. 

Cho. 



I 



74 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



"The hypocrite business is pretty good pay; 
Build churches in which you can snivel and pray; 
Then turn your old minister out on the sod, 
And be your own sexton, and preacher, and God. 
Cho. 
"If men have besmeared you— embrace them 
and kiss; 
If men had faith in you, just kick them for this; 
In deeds of sweet charity, nevermore shirk. 
Relieve the distressed— but first take it in work. 

Cho. 
"Take contracts to work for the great public 

cause; 
Keep the outside free from all blemish and flaws; 
But fill the odd uorner with refuse and trash- 
In tliat lies your profit— and profit is cash. 

Cho. 
"Be upright— whenever it brings you the pelf; 
Be faithful— when that's the best show for your- 
self. 

Those men strictly honest are never in luck; 
And honor with poverty runs "nip and tuck." 

Cho. 
As Martin thus heard, did his wonder increase, 
Not thinking the mill only needed some grease; 
"That voice is prophetic— I haste to obey- 
Thus surely does Providence point me the way." 

Cho. 
"Thence forward the grinding was dismally 

low; 
The cane grew no more, and the juice ceased to 

flow; 
No more the old crow-bait walked patiently 

round; 
No more the rank palp, rotting, littered the 
ground. 
Cho. 
Men ransacked the markets and thought it so 

queer 
That the clear strained sap should no longer ap- 
pear. 
A wail of despair went up o'er the land- 
Children cried and women longed, for Bow- 
owner's brand. 
Cho. 

"Years came and years went, as the years al- 
ways do. 
While Martin unswerving his course did pursue, 
Determined with might and with main to fulfil 
By the fate pointed out by the squeak of the mill. 
Cho. 



"I saw him once more after seasons had rolled, 

And he had worked out what the squeaking fore- 
told. 

Wound you know how he looked when he acted 
it through? 

Then pick from this list a symbol or two; 
Cho. 

"The last end of pea-time— the skin of the snail— 
A battered old can on a mangy dog's tail— 
A bladder that's busted— a bubble that's pricked. 
An old hat that's crownless and banged up and 
kicked — 
Cho. 

"A tow-linen shirt that is minus a tail — 
Old Jonah when just taking of leave the whale— 
A cow sick on buckeyes— a three legged steer — 
A shyster well played, with a flea in his ear, 
Cho. 

"And as he trudged onward thus did he com- 
plain: 

'I'll have to go back to the sorghum again. 

The mill is a prophet, I think -so to speak — 

By the profit I've found iu the juice, not the 
squeak.' 
Cho. 



MORAL. 

"Whenever you see a great hog of a man, 
Who tries to get more than he honestly can, 
That his purse and his fame may grow bulky and 

fast, 
You will find him come out mighty peaked at 

last. 

Cho. 

On the high prairie, October, 21, 1872, 



DID YOIT KVER1 



PAT, GRAY, 



Did you ever take a ramble through the wood, 
With the little girl you wanted by your side? 

Did you ever feel so happy or so good? 
Are her kisses any sweeter as your bride? 

Did you ever to the orchard go to spark, 
Wliile her papa was a sleeping like a log? 

Did you ever go a-groping in the dark. 
Feeling 'round to get a brick to hit the dog? 





harry Mailer, 
Editor Leona Hustler. 



A. W. Themansoii, 
Editor Wathena Republican. 





Mrs. Eva Ryan Swayze. 



Tobias Larson, 
Editor Highland Vidette 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



76 



Did you ever keep y6tii' lady out too late, 
When she'd promised to be in by ten o'clock? 

Did you ever grease the hinges of the gate, 
Just to please the quiet people in the block? 

Did her father ever catch her on your knee, 
With her loving little arms around your neck? 

Did he look as if he thought it shouldn't be? 
Did he tell you it was time for you to trek? 

Did you ever fondly kiss her curley hair? 

Did you clip a lock to have when she'd be gone? 
After marriage was the article so rare? 

Did you find it in the butter later on? 

Did you ever find her in a little pout? 

Did you pat her head and kiss away her tear? 
Since you're married, when you have a falling out, 

Do you thiuk to kiss her gooa and call her 
"dear?" 

When your sweetheart had a package to be 
brought, 
Did you ever dare to grumble at the weight? 
Since you're papa, do you do the things you'd 
ought? 
Do you think to carry baby much of late? 



KANSAS. 



CHARLES R. HEWINS 



We're just as glad as we can be. 
That Kansas is not Tennessee, 
Or any other sovereign State, 
No matter whether small or great. 
Because we love her even more 
Than man has loved his State before; 
And if from her we choose to roam, 
We'll ever think of her as home; 
We blow our country's bugle horn. 
And bless the day our State was born. 

The boundless prairies, all our own. 
Our homes among the greatest flowers — 
A. barren waste before the war. 
But it's a barren waste no more. 
New countries have privations great; 
'Twas we who built our homes and state; 
Our schools and churches we'll promote. 
And give to each hLs own free vote; 
And guard our homes, nor let strong drink 
Bring us at last to ruin's brink. 



It is the state for you and me. 
With earth and air and sky so free; 
With sparkling dew upon the corn, 
And bracing balmy air at morn; 
With bright green grass and golden wheat, 
'Tis here the flowers of richest hue 
Waste their sweet fragrance on the dew, 
And brightest birds in early spring 
Pipe forth our motto, "Corn is King." 

We welcome all to this, our home — 
You can not find a richer loam; 
And if with us you cast your lot. 
We'll hand to you the best we've got. 
If all will do what's right and true 
(And that is what we all shall do,) 
Then when we die^for die we must — 
We'll know to whom we leave this trust; 
And stately trees and golden maize 
Will bough their heads to all in praise. 



DEATH «»P THE OLD YEAR. 



MRS. EMILY STOCKING. 



I walked in the moonlight's shimmering ray. 
To list what the old year had to say; 
To hear some tale of deep distress. 
Of hearts that beat in joyousness. 

But the silence of night was scarcely broke. 
So soft and low was the voice that spoke; 
"A lesson of life I'll teach to thee-^ 
Only a moment listen to me. 

Dost hear in the grove the wind's low sigh. 
Telling of hopes which with manhood die? 
He clings to life, but his time has flown, 
And over his joys dead leaves are strewn. 

Tiny flowers that peeped out one by one. 
Caressed aud nursed by the warm summer's 

sun, 
Lie faded and dead in our Wintry way — 
So innocent chidhood passes away. 

The earth may he robed in her richest dress. 
And the bride may smile in her joyousness; 
But dying tonight, I lift the pall. 
And breathe to your soul the fate of all. 

Dost see yon river? Ice-bound and still; 
Emblem of age; hopes frozen and chilled;" 
They folded their hands on their weary breast, 
'I am done with earth; O, let me rest." 
Charleston, Kan., Jan. 1, 1874. 



16 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORV. 



frHEifcROUHfO ttOG. 

BY SOL. MILLER. 



It's O, for the times of our fathers; 

And O, for the good old days, 
Ere the up-start prophets of weather 

Came with their newfangled ways; 
When the lowly and humble ground-hog 

That balances the season's fate, 
Knew naught of the puzzle of science. 

But knew how to watch and wait. 
In his burrow in woodland hillside, 

Hard-by some ice-covered stream, 
He waits for the time appointed, 

Then wakes from his winter's dream. 
From his door he cautiously peereth. 

For shadows that come before. 
O Wiggins, O Hicks, with their wisdom. 

Might envy his subtle lore. 
Then will we not learn from the ground hog 

A lesson of value to man? 
He patiently waits wdthout worry, 

And doeth the best he can. 
He takes whatever is ottered. 

With never a growl or scold;; 
If it isn't warm to his liking, 

He's willing take it cold. 



M. E. CHURCH DEDICATION. 

(Highland, Kansas.) 

MARY DEANE. 



Cradled, O, God within thy hand. 
As suppliants we before Thee stand. 

To do thy will. 
Obedient to command of old. 
Uprose this house thy name to hold! 

It will thy glory fill ! • 

Upon thy loving heart, oh, trace 
This temple for thy dwelling place, 

Most holy One in three; 
Here may the heralds of thy love 
Transfix the eyes on joys above, 

And lead the soul to Thee! 

Bless those that bade these walls arise; 
Grant them a mansion with the wise. 

When called from time to go; 
All o'er these prairies, vast and grand, 
May temples rise and converts stand, 

Till all the Saviour know. 



THE OLD MAID. 



EVA RYAN. 

She gave her life to love. She never knew 
What other women give their all to gain. 

Others were fickle. She was passing true. 
She gave pure love, and faith without a stain. 

She never married. Suitors came and went: 
The dark eyes flashed their love on one alone, 

Her life was passed in quiet and content. 
The old love reigned. No rival shar'd the throne. 

Think you her life was wasted? Vale and hill 
Blossomed in summer, and white winter came. 

The blue ice stifl'ened on the silent rill; 
All times and seasons found her still the same. 

Her heart was full of sweetness till the end. 

What once she gave she never took away. 
Through all her youth she loved one faithful 
friend. 

She loves him now her hair is growing gray. 



TO THE RIVER. 



ALMA KELLEY. 



River, sad and dreary river. 

Flowing where the rushes shiver. 
Where the breezes softly sigh. 

Tell to me the song you're chanting 

In the dreamy days of planting- 
Is it baby's lullaby? 

Do you sing of sunny meadows 

Where the snow-clouds trail their shadows. 
Passing like a phantom throng? 

Or to nestlings in the willows. 

Rocking, swaying on the billows- 
Do you sing a cradle song? 
ANSWER. 

Once beside my laughing water 

Lived a boatman's sunny daughter. 
Fairer than the buds of May. 

Underneath the dancing billov^'. 

With her gold hair for a pillow 
All alone she sleeps to-day. 

And my wavelets onward sweeping 
Pause not for a mother's weeping— 

I must ever speed along; 
But for sake of those who love her 
Gently gliding past above her, 

I must croon my slumber song, 




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GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



77 



TIIK KOI':XUlNG Ol*'' TMK IOWA HIISS1<)N. 

ANONYMOUS. 

Hushed at last in balmy slumbers, 
Where the wild flowers drink the dew, 

Un lamented lie the red men 
Once our rolling prairies knew. 

Where the pawpaw trees, still growing, 
Spread their broad leaves in the sun; 

Where, in tangled dells of hazel, 
Brooks with merry babble run. 

Mellow Autumn, sadly lingering, 
Sciitters 'round her withered leaves; 

Summer's rainy tears fall gently, 
Winter's eold wind o'er them grieves. 

Love and hate can thrill no longer, 

Life's delirium now is past, 
So shall we, like them, be only 

Dust, unconscious dust, at last. 

Yonder, by the trees half hidden, 
Stiinds the Missions' crumbling walls; 

Heedless, if loud bents the tempest, 
Or soft moonlight o'er them falls. 

Pathways old, with faded grasses. 
And with creeping vines grown o'er. 

Tell us of what has been only, 
And of what shall be no more. 

Tell us of one now reposing. 
Who so oft these ways has trod; 

One who came to teach the savage, 
And to turn him to his God. 

Feeble though, and frail in body. 

His the heart but to obey; 
Ah, then, how sublime the sowing 

For the harvest of today! 

Then there were no home scenes happy 

On our prairies spread afar; 
Still day came with sun and vanished; 

Night with moon and glittering star. 

In the distant forest jungle 
Sang the lonely whippoorwill, 

Sang and listened to the echoes 
Answering faintly from the hill. 

Flowers of brilliant hue in Spring-time 
Poured their fnigrance on the air; 

Fifty times they've bloomed and withered, 
Since arose those walls with prayer. 



All hail, wondrous transformation! 

Who has made our prairies bloom? 
He who dared to pierce the desert, 

With its perils and its gloom. 

All hail glorious coronation, 
Yonder in the bright blue sky! 

Lo, the souls he saved from error, 
Lift their flaunting banners high. 

Rescued from earth's midnight shadows; 

Saved from superstition's thrall; 
Rolls the great choir's glad Te Deum 

Over tower and jasper wall. 



TO n\ CHIKAT OKAiVOMOTllKK. 

(Aged Ninety-eight ) 



NORMAN K. HICKMAN. 



I count it a love and an lionored tic. 
That fetters my youthful heart to thee, 

Grandmother dear with the silvery hair- 
Sweet may life's closing twilight be. 

Rosy and fair are the sunset hues; 

Rosy and fair was the morning's dawn; 
Tho' stormy oft were the hours between, 

Restful and sweet is the night stealing on. 

The billows roll up from the years long fled, 
And passing break on the silent shore; 

They are fraught with the scenes of a hundred 
years; 
With hopes and joys that are earth's no more. 

'Tis the honest boast of a life well lived. 
Of work well done, that I breathe to-day; 

Oh, crown with laurels thelworthy brow. 
Age is not winter, but flow'ring May. 

You say that your skies have a mournful cast, 
That the dismal clouds move sad and slow. 

But bluer skies shall be thine ere long. 
Than the children of dust on earth can know. 

The old sights sink in oblivioii's sea; 
The earthly fades from the aching view, 

O, sweet transition from earthly ills- 
Behold the Lord makes all things anew. 

Come there no sounds from balmier climes 
Of tho rythmic .strains that the faithful sing? 

There the eyes arc ever undimmned by age. 
And the hills are aglow with perpetual spring. 



78 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY, 



\irHO IS TO BLARIE 7 



MAUD ABBEY. 



'Resistance to wrong is obedience to God." 

"Am I my brother's keeper?" Still 

The cowardly words of Cane 
Ring out where'r entrenched wrong 

Attains its end through pain. 
Are we to blame for aught of woe 

That clouds the passing years, 
And must we bear upon our hearts 

Our brother's pain and tears? 

Are to blame for childhood robbed 

And sold in labors's mart, 
Of God's own bounteous gifts to all 

Denied their rightful part? 
If from their sordid, untaught youth 

Spring deeds of sin ana shame. 
To flood our land with misery, 

Ah, who shall be to blame? 

For manhood's treasure, sacred truth 

Bartered for daily bread; 
For right to win from God's storehouse 

Wherewith we shall be fed; 
For white souls soiled and dragged into 

The mire of sin and shame; 
For shipwrecked hopes and darkened lives- 

Oh, God, are we to blame? 

Ob, may the nation's great heart go 

Out to the suffering ones; 
The light of hope is dawning for 

America's loved sons. 
Press onward then, my aative land, 

Keep well thy upward path; 
Escape the anger of thy God, 

The winepress of his wrath. 



TEL.L.ING STORIES. 



EVA RYAN. 



My little one climbs on my knee to say, 
In the coaxingest, cunningest kind of way, 
"Please tell me a story, just one," and this 
He says with a hug and a long, long kiss. 
That he gives as the story teller's fee; 
So what can I do but grant his plea? 

Shall I tell the story of "Little Boy Blue"? 
"No, no, dear Mamma, dest somthin' new!" 



This bars the way then for "Little Bo Peep,' 
And the boy in the haystack fast asletp; 
The pigs that went to market, too: 
What kind of a story shall I tell you? 

"O, somfin' pitty!" And I begin. 

With a kiss for the dimpled cheek and chin. 

And what I tell him I scarcely know, 

Since the thread of my story tangies so 

That I loose the run of it, half way through. 

But that doesn't matter — "It's sometfin' new." 

The story ends: there's a pause, and then — 
"Please, Mamma" pleadingly, "tell it again." 
And I tell it over, and when it is done. 
There's quick demand for another one. 
And the queerest stories that I invent 
Are those with which he is most content. 

All at once the lids of my little one's eyes 
Waver, and droop, and in vain he tries 
To lift them, and keep them from closing quite. 
A moment more and they shut the light 
Away from the eyes that with dreams are deep. 
And my lover of stories is fast asleep. 



LULLiABY. 



LOLA KELLEY. 



O, sleep, baby, sleep, for the twilight is dying, 
And over the clover bright dew drops are 
strewn, 

While out of the west scented zephyrs are flying 
To toss the lace curtain clouds over the moon. 

The owl and the whippoorwill down by the river, 
Are waiting the death of the day in the west 

And the breath ef the wmd bids the willows to 
quiver, 
To rock the bird babies to sleep in their nest. 

The fairy bell flowers o'er yonder are swinging 

And low, dreamy music is wafted to thee; 
Then sleep till the birds in the tree tops are 
singing, 
And sunbeams are raining their gold on the 
sea. 

Now safe into dreamland go thou a drifting, 
While white winged angels tbeir love virgils 
keep — 

For over your eyelids the sand man is sifting. 
The dream sand that coaxes my darling to sleep! 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



79 



MABKIi. 

THOMAS W. HEATLEY. 

(To iny little neighbor, Mabel Perry.) 

Mubel— dainty little maiden- 
Sweet blonde of purest type; 

Rose tinted cheeks, and pouting lips. 
Like summer cherries ripe. 

Deep blue eyes that sparkle fair. 

Like diamonds in the night; 
And heavy, sunlit trusses flow 

Above her shoulders white. 

A voice both soft and musical, 

And in her fair young face, 
Is set the seal of purity 

And intellectual grace. 

A fairy form, a gentle step, 

True grace in ev'ry motion, 
As sweet a child as in the land, 

And worth a life's devotion. 

And though our dear no princess is, 

Simply a child so fair, 
With any royal maiden born, 

I'm sure she will compare, 

And more than this— than outer charms- 

Her beauty lies within; 
And may her goodness ever serve 

To shame away all sin. 



'WHERi A BOY. 



JOSEPH C COEDONIER. 

The old home stands upon the hill. 
And lo, behold, I see it still. 
And there, beneath the sunny sky, 
I sat and watched the birds go by. 
And wondered if I e'er would be 
A man, some day— it troubled me. 
Where there was sorrow now is joy. 
For I'm no more to be a boy. 

My father was poor neighbor Bill, 

Who lives across on the other hill; 

He always was walling to do his part. 

And that's the way he got his start. 

He laborered and toiled from morn till night, 

In summer days, when the sun shone bright; 

And so he kept me in his employ, 

To drive the cows up, when a boy. 



When a boy I worked my father's farm — 
Some days hauled hay into his barn; 
And from our brows streams would flow — 
Even when I had to mow. 
But how the time has quickly past; 
I'm getting old, I can not last; 
My boyhood days will soon be o'er. 
My work days then will be no more. 

I often wandered down the hill, 
To watch the weary water-mill 
Grind the wheat up into flour— 
I sat and watched it hour by hour. 
When turning 'round, to ray surprise, 
I caught a sight before my eyes. 
My mother's heart then filled with joy, 
Again she found me, when a boy. 

Long months and years have come and gone, 

Since first the day tliat I was born; 

But now the time is growing late, 

'Twill not be long for me to wait. 

The time will come and soon will we 

Be launched into eternity. 

And now my heart is all but joy — 

I only wish I was a boy. 



WE WIL.Ii FORGET. 



EVA RYAN. 



We will forget —ah, forget at last, 
Though heart be sad and eye with teardrop 
wet; 
The sunshine and shadow of the past 
We will forget. 

Onr happy hours together, all too fleet; 

Youi words of love, that stir me strangely yet: 
The clinging arms; the kisses, tender, sweet. 
We will forget. 

In future years the day may dawn at last 

When we may meet as ere we loved we met; 
When, lo.st in Lethe's wave, the happy past 
We will forget. 

And yet, oh heart of mine, that throbs amiss 

With all this weight of sorrow and regret. 
All earti) — all heaven— is changed because of 
this- 

We will forget. 



80 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



OLD AND POOR. 



MAUD ABBEY. 



He stood beside the open door, 

His form bent 'neath the weight of years; 
A man whose life held trials sore, 

And sorrow far to deep for tears. 
His pale, sad face was pinched with cold. 

His feeble, trembling hands were bare, 
"While throujfh his garments, thin and o!d, 

Unhindered swept the wintry air. 

"A crust of bread in Pity's name: 

A few hours' shelter from the cold." 
Oh, God, we see with bitter shame 

The f;ite in store for poor and old. 
We boast of progress all in vain; 

Life's lessons al! are read amiss; 
A bitter life of toil and pain, 

E'er hoping, ne'er getting but this. 

In hopeful youth no boding fears 

Shadowed the happy hours with gloom 
But now he finds life's closing years 

Embittered by the pauper's doom. 
He gave his talent, strength and time 

To add unto the nation's store, 
And now, long past bis manhood's prime. 

His bread he begs from door to door. 

Too long have we been blinded by 

The specious lies of greed and sin; 
We give the poor in charity 

What they themselves have helped to win. 
No peaceful home for old and poor. 

No rest for weary, aching feet; 
Behind them clangs the almshouse door. 

Or death at last, upon the street. 



DEATH OF GENERAL. CUSTEK. 



MARIAN S. LIVERMOBE. 



O Custer, valiant Custer, 
Can this dread news be true? 

(The bravest band in all the land 
That wore their Country's blue.) 

Dishonor never stained his name. 
Defeat he never knew. 

O Custer of the golden locks. 
The heart that knew no fear, 

The land that honors heroes dead 
Shall hold thy memory dear. 



Nor lack of praise from bearded lips, 
Nor dearth of woman's tears. 

On all the Southern battle-fields, 

Where fell our Nation's pride. 
No truer soldiers ever fought. 

No braver ever died, 
Than rest within those deep ravines. 

Or by the river's side. 

Be scorned, the envious voice from the East, 

Reproach upon the brave. 
To blast the laurels on the brows 

Asleep in honored graves. 
Who died from worse than carnage red. 

Our Western homes to save. 

No lions in the jungle thick, 

Or wild beasts in their lair. 
Were half so cruel as the foes 

Who lay in ambush in there; 
Not all their savage lives were worth 

Brave Custer's golden hair. 

The story of that fierce attack, 

Not one was left to tell, 
Of all the brave three hundred 

Who perished where they fell, 
When warriors from wild ravine 

Swarmed up like fiends from hell. 

Let vengeance swift their track pursue, 

Till not a lodge remains. 
To shelter in its hostile folds 

The terror of the plains. 
Then Custer and his gallant band 

Shall not have died in vain. 



IN MEMORIUM. 



MYRTLE R. HACKNEY. 



There's a burden of grief on the autumn breeze. 
That blows o'er the land and deep blue seas. 
A song of regret from the birds of the air, 
A shadow of sorrow spreading everywhere: 
On the land where joy has ranged for years. 
But now whose fields are damp with tears. 

The stars and stripes droop in mournful state. 
The eagle cries, "Too late, too late!" 
Too late to rescue and protect the hand 
Which once guarded our glorious land. 
But not too late to give homage due, 
While o'er us shines the sky of blue. 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



81 



Deeds of the man so noble and gr<;at, 
Who rode at the helm of the ship of state; 
Who so gallantly steered o'er the war tossed 

wave, 
Who bore it back to the home of the brave, 
Shall stand as a monument true and jjrand. 
In the hearts on the people of the land. 

Yet the nation's heart aches with pain, 
And the tears fall as the drop^ of rain, 
For this loyal form of noble life. 
Enjoying peace after stru'jTi^le arjd strife; 
Enjoying pleisnres, honor and health, 
Mingled with the nation's joy and wealth. 

And when he offered his hand to greet. 
The hand of another he chi^nccd to meet, 
Was slain by this atrocious hand, 
Which had been given liberty in our land. 
Thrice this nation has borne this pain, 
Thrice our leader has tlius been slain; 
Leaders who thus dispelled the clouds of war. 
But now have entered the gates ajar. 

We ask in sorrow why was he taken that way? 
And not permitted longer to .stay; 
But he so true and noble- hearted said. 
As friends gathered around his bed, 
And there remained a few sad h:>urs, 
"Good bye to all; God's way, not ours." 

His spirit rests neath a golden wall, 
Where angels answer to its call, 
Where war clouds are never seen; 
Where mountains of joy reign supreme; 
Where drums and bugies pervade not the air, 
But angel's harps are playing tln;re. 

On earth his name and memory shall never die. 
But grow dearer and dearer as years roll by; 
And the place will ever be guarded and blest. 
Where ur loved noe is laid to re t. 
And love's monument towering to the skies. 
Shall mark the spot where McKmley lies. 



MARRIED. 



LIZZIE DOMS. 



Our beautiful Maggie was married to-day, 
Beautiful Maggie with soft brown hair. 
Whose shadows fall over a face as fair 
As the snowy bloom of the early May; 



We have kissed her lips and sent her aw.ay. 
With many a blessing and many a prayer; 
The pet of our home who was p;iarried to-day. 

The sunshine is gone from the old south room. 
Where she sat through the long bright summer 

hours; 
And the odor has gone fr om the window flowers, 
And the shadow creeps o'er the house with a 

gloom; 
A shadow that over our paradise lowers. 
For we see her no more in the old south room. 

I thought that the song of the robin this eve 
As he sang to his mate on the sycamore tree. 
Had minors of sadness to temper his glee. 
As if he the loss of our darling did grieve. 
And ask " Where is Maggie ? " and " Why did she 

leave — 
The maiden who carolled sweet duets to me? " 
For she mocked not the song of the robin this eve. 

The pictures seem dim v/here they hang on the 

wall; 
Though they cost but a trifle they appeared very 

fair. 
Whether lamplight or sunlight illumined them 

there; 
I think 'twas her presence that brightened them 

all, 
Since Maggie no longer can come to our call. 
With her eyes full of laughter unshadowed by care, 
The pictures seem dim where they hang on the 

wall. 

I lounge thro' the garden, I stand by the gate— 
Site stood there to greet me last eve at this hour 
Each eve thro' the summer, in sunshine and 

shower. 
She stood by the postern my coming to wait, — 
Dear Maggie, her heart with its welcome elate, 
To give me a smile, a kiss, and a flower — 
Oh, when will she meet me again by the gate ? 

She loved us and left us — she loves and is gene 
With the one she loves best, as his beautiful 

bride; 
How fondly he calls her his joy and his pride, 
Our joy and our pride whom he claims for his own. 
But can he, as we do, prize what he his won — 
The heart that trustingly throbs by his side? 
God knows, aud we know that she loves — and is 

gone. 
March 23, 18S2. 



82 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI. 



MAKIAN S. LIVEKMORE. 

Rfsppctfully inscribed to Mrs. M. Patee Russell. 
Sngsrested while viewing the city from the bluffs 
near Wathena. 

Oh, fair, prond city, at whose feet 
The dark Missoiiri sweeps alonpr, 

These summer days it were most meet 
Some poet greet thee with a song. 

But how shall I such tribute bring, 
Whose voice hath silent been so long? 

I gnze upon the from afar, 

(Where the broad river rolls between) 
Past trees that toss their branches far, 

To hide thee with their lofty screen; 
'Twouldtake a firmer barrier fnr, 

To shut thee from my heart, I we^^n. 

They cannot hide the sunny slopes 

O'er which I rambled long Rg-?; 
When youthful hearts beat high with hopes, 

And panted more of life to know. 
They cannot hide thy soft blue sky, 

Or drifting clouds of purest snow. 

I see afar thy glittering domes. 

Plash softly back the broken light, 
That falls on many a. pleasant home 

Filled with fair forms and faces bright. 
And rising silent and alone 

The slender church spires gleaming white. 

On yonder hills once smooth and green. 
Or covered but with tangled trees, 

Where manv a wild flower grew between 
And drew the honey-laden bees, 

A hundred happy homes are seen 
Whose roses woo the summer breeze. 

See, far adown yon crowded street, 
I've gathered sweet spring violets there, 

'Tis trampled now by bn^y feet. 
Where clustered once their blossoms rare. 

No more the dear young friends I meet, 
That twined them in their glossy hair. 

All changed as by some magic wand, 
Yet still the pleasant spot I know. 

Where once the silver willows spread 
Their soft green branches drooping low; 

But where are now those busy hands. 
And hearts with youthful hopes aglow? 



Above yon hill so brown and bare. 
That overlooks the restless flood. 

How many friends remember where 
Upon its brow the cross once stood? 

Where o'er some stranger's lonely grave 
Once rose the slender cross of wood. 

I cannot calmly meet thy hills. 
Or bid their sloping curves adieu. 

Along whose path my steps once trod, 
With dear kind friends, the tried and true; 

How light our footsteps pressed the sod 
When life and love alike were new. 

Alas, beside some grassy mound, 
Wheie many a l)ilLfcr lear is shed, 

I only find their gi aven names 
In the quiet city of the dead: 

Ah, better to have perished young, 
Than live till hope and joy are fled. 

Beneah some pillar fair and white, 
Their weary forms have sunk to rest; 

But far away their spirits bright 
Dwell in the mans^ions of the blest; 

And still we drop the silent tear, 
Above their quiet place of rest. 

Could I recall the years now fled, 

I might a fitting tribute bring. 
But ah, my heart is with the dead. 

Fair city, while thy praise I sing; 
The early loved, the long lost dead, 

Around whose graves will sorrow cling. 



BEAUTIFUL KANSAS. 



BY HATTIE E. PEELER. 



Beautiful Kansas sits in the sun, 
Smiling and happy, her work well done- 
Well done, too, for in sun and rain 
Toiled she nobly, nor toiled in vain. 
Plentiful showers and warm sunshine 
Breathing glad life in each plant and vine; 
Plentiful harvests her labors have blest. 
Now from her labors she finds welcome rest; 
Under the light of the Autumn sun. 
Smiling and happy her work all done. 

What are the visions that flit to and fro. 
As backward she looks o'er the long, long ag o? 
Visions of battle, of blood, and of strife; 
Of dark fearsome days which with carnage were 
rife: 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



83 



Of drouth-stricken fields and of pestilent dread; 
Of days when her children were hungry for 

bread; 
Of tempests' fierce wrath which could not be 

staj'ed. 
Of piteous cries to her sisters for aid — 
These are the visions which flit to and fro 
Through her mind, as she thinks of the long, 

long ago. 

How changed is the prospect before her glad 

eyes! 
F'ertile plains smiling 'neath radiant skies, 
Golden with corn and emerald with wheat; 
Orchards all laden with fruits luscious and sweet; 
Granaries once empty, now bursting with store; 
Food for the hungry and wealth for the poor; 
Homes for the homeless, a welcome to all. 
Comfort and aid to those who may call — 
This is the recompense Kansas has won, 
Smiling and happy, her work well done. 

Beautiful Kansas, fair and serene! 

Up to the stars she nas risen a queen; 

Scepter and robe she rightly doth hold; 

Her garments are fashioned of gay cloth of gold, 

Woven by sunshine, by showers and by dew, 

Bright as the rainbow in color and hue. 

Aid she can now to the needy extend, 

Help from her bounty to others can lend, 

Beautiful Kansas, fair and serene. 

Up to the stars she has risen a queen ! 

Beautiful mansions now dotting her plain. 
Prove that her children have not toiled in vain; 
Nestling in beauty by each rippling stream, 
Showing her pledges she well can redeem. 
Pledged to give to all that shall come. 
To her bosom for shelter and safety a home; 
Joy and contentment, comfort and peace, 
Health in each breath of her life-giving breeze — 
These are the blessings that Kansas has won; 
Gives she them freely to each worthy son. 



TO LIZZIE. 



BY "'LAMMA." 



Oh, memory is so sweet tu me Lizzie, 

Busy with the past to-night; 
Your blue eyes are shining upon me 

Still, in their beautiful light. 
Have you ever once guessed at the secret 

That lay hid in that long sunny time 



That sang the sweet songs in such silence. 
Which were echoed by your heart and mine? 

For never before have I whispered 

The story ever sweet, ever new, 
Until, with the holiest feelings 

I hold it, dear Lizzie, to you. 

No blossoms of hope had then perished, 
No shadows had passed the first gloom. 

And we saw not the key to the future. 
That opened our hearts to the tomb. 

Ah, Lizzie, the shadows and sunshine 
Both childhood and womanhood meet. 

And the heart often knows all the bitter 
Before it has welcomed the sweet. 

For soon, ere the snows of winter 
Fell deep at the death of the year, 

Did we meet, and together, my darling. 
Strew the ashes of hope on the bier. 

You kissed my pale brow in your sadness, 
When none stood to cheer me but you; 

And though you were mute in your sorrow. 
Your heartstrings were breaking then, too. 

But the sorrow was beautiful, darling. 
Your feelings for womanhood years. 

While I'll not forget, in my bosom. 
The scar furrowed deeper with tears. 

Good-bye, for to-morrow has claimed you, 
To deck with bright laurels your brow; 

But remember, that out in the "sometime." 
There's a parting that's sadder than now. 

But ever the love of my darling 
Will still be the theme of my rhyme. 

Though you pass first across the dark river, 
And eternity yours before rain'e. 



NELME AVHOI 



PAT GRAY. 



Yes, I meet her bare-back riding. 

Using neither strap nor rein; 
Blind her horse, but she was guiding 
With her fingers in the mane, — 
Sweet little. 
Neat little. 
Girl on the gray old mare. 

"Morning, Sis," with nod I greeted;! 

She returned a soft "Hello." 
"What's your name?" I then entreated, 



84 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



"Nell," is all she'd let me know, — 

Dear lilt e, 

Queer little, 

Girl on the gray old mare. 

In a simple gown and airy, 

Bare and brown her little feet; 
Pretty as a garden fairy, 
Ev'ry inch of her was sweet,— 
Piim little, 
Trim little, 
Girl on the yray old mare. 
But the rnare was very laz.v, 

And the sun was boiling hot, 
"IIu!-ry, bodsy,— get ep, Daisy, 
Coax yourself into a true." — 
Round little, 
Sound little, 
Girl on the gray old mare. 
As I passed the little rangd.-, 

With a gianee she seemed LoSay, 
"Don't you mention 'clothespin, stranger, 
'Cause I'm riding this-a-way." — 
Great little, 
Straight little. 
Girl on the gray old mare. 
On she rode, this happy hearted, 
Sweet, contented Lttle queen; 
Cheeks iglow and red lips parted, 
Showing all the peails between,— 
Sliy little. 
Spry little. 
Girl on the gray old mare. 
For her name I vainly plotted; 

I could get no further clue. 
With a smile aw.iy she trotted — 
Nellit— yes— but Nellie Who?— 
That little, 
Fat little, 
Girl on the gray od mare. 



WHEN I WAS A. BOY AT HOIK. 

CHARLES R. HEWINS. 



There is one place upon the earth a boy will not 

forget; 
Though other thoughts and p'aces fade, this 

place is vivid yet; 
It is the brightest spot on earth, or ought to be 

at least; 
And not a place to crush out life, but for the 

heart to feast. 



It is the home of our kindest friends, and where 

our lives begin, 
v\here we obt lin our early thoughts, which 

rusn along like sin. 
O, what a pleasant time in life without a cue to 

mar, 
It is the place (the vei y place) that make boys 

what they are. 
Oh, no, I never can forget, no matter Wi.eie 1 

roam — 
I often think of those old days when I was a boy 

at home. 

We have tmch pleasaijt memories, our thoughts 

run back to when 
We told each other what we tiiought we'd do 

when w« were men. 
But not a thing took place by chance as we 

agreed it shouid; 
Our aspirations were to nigh— perhaps that's for 

our good. 
Our lime was spent at school when young, from 

morn ti'i close or day; 
At uight our stories we'd relate; we'd lay our 

caies away. 
Our father and our mother too, would give us 

good rtdvicB 
About tne downward easy load that we might 

think was nioe. 
There'll always bo a sacred place, no matter 

where we loam — 
We never can forg-.t the days when we were 

boys at home. 

I care not whether large or omail, a house has 

little part. 
In making home what its lioald be — there's home 

wnere tuere's a Ueart. 
O, is there such a place on earth (th ugh Eve 

ana Adam fell.) 
Where life and light aud love are crushed — a place 

where demons dwell? 
Our words and actions all should be rttlections 

of a SaUl, 

That h id a right regard for all upon tnc family 

roll; 
And after I am old and gray I know taat 1 shall 

mourn, 
If I cauLot return and see the place where I was 

born, 
Those memories will still remain thouj^h round 

the earth I roam. 
I never can forget the days when I was a boy at 

home. 




HON. ED. HEENEY. 





Cyrus Luland, Jr. 



Wm. I. Stuart. 





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OKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



CHAPTER I. 



CORONADO. 

'i'iit'ie are two sentences in Coronado's 
letter to bis King Avhich seem to prove 
that lie once stood with his thirty com- 
panions on the tank of the Missouri 
river, near the present site of "White 
Cloud, where he erected a wooden cross 
with the following chiseled inscription: 
"Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, Gen- 
eral of the Spanish Expedition Arrived 
Here." 

In order that our readers may read and 
decide for themselves, we reproduce 
i 'oronado's letter complete. 

Translation of a Letter From Coronado to the 
King, October 20, 1S41. 

Holy Catholic Caesarian Majesty: 
Oil Ajnil 20, of this year I wrote to 
Your .Majesty from this Province of 
Tiguex. in reply to a letter from Your 
Majesty, dated in M: diid, June 11, a year 
ago. I gave a detailed account of this 
expedition, which the viceroy of New 
Spain ordered jne to tmdertake in Your 
Majesty's name to this country, wliich 
was discovered by Friar Marcos of Nice, 
the Provincial of the Order of the Holy 
■ aint Francis. I described it all, and 



the sort of force I have, as your Majesty 
had ordered me to relate in my letters; 
and stated that while I engaged in the 
conquest and the pacification of the na- 
tives of this province, some Indians who 
were natives of provinces beyond these, 
had told me that in their country, there 
were much larger villages and better 
houses than those of the natives of this 
country, and that they had lords who 
ruled them, who were served with dishes 
of gold andother very magnificent things; 
nnd although, as I wrote your Majesty, 
I did not believe it before I set eyes on 
it, because it M^as the report of Indians 
jind given for the most part by means of 
signs, yet as the report appeared to me 
to be very fine, and that it was impor- 
tant that it should be investigated for 
Your Majesty's service, I determined to 
go <ind see it with the men I have here. 
I started from this province on the 23rd 
of last April, for the place where the 
Indians wanted to guide me. 

After nine days' march I reached some 
plains, so vast that I did not find their 
limit anywhere that I went, although 1 
traveled over them for more than three 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



hundred leagues. I found such a quan- 
tity of cows in these, of the kind that I 
wrote your Majesty about, which they 
have in this country, that it is impos- 
sible to number them, for while I was 
journeying through these plains, until I 
returned to where I first found them, 
there was not a day that I had lost sight 
of them. After seventeen days' march I 
came to a settlement of Indians who are 
called Querechos, who travel around with 
these cows, who do not plant, but eat the 
raw flesh and drink the blood of the cows 
they kill. They tan the skin of the cows 
with which all the people of this country 
dress themselves here. They have little 
field tents made from the hides of the 
cows, tanned and greased, very well 
made, in which they live while they tra- 
vel around near the cows, moving with 
these. They h.ave dogs which they train 
to carry their tents, poles and lelongings. 
These people have the best figures of any 
I have seen in the Indies. 

They could not give me any account of 
the country where the guides were taking 
me. I traveled five days more as the 
guides wished to lead me, until I reached 
some plains with no more landmarks than 
if we had been swallowed up in the sea, 
where they strayed about, because there 
was not a stone, nor a bit of rising 
ground, nor a tree, nor a shrub nor any- 
thing to go by. There is much very fine 
pasture land, with good grass. And 
while we were lost in these plains, some 
horsemen who went on a hunt for cows 
fell in with the Indians, who also were 
out hunting, who are the enemies of those 
I had seen in the last settlement and of 
another sort of people, who are called 



Teyas; they have their bodies and faces 
all painted, are a large people like the 
others of a very good build; they eat the 
raw flesh just like the Querechos and 
live and travel around with the cows in 
the same way as these. I obtained from 
these an account of the country where 
the guides were taking me, which was 
not like what they had told me, because 
they made out that the houses were not 
built of stones, with stories, as my guides 
had described it, but of straw and skins, 
and a small supply of corn there. 

This news troubled me greatly, to find 
myself on these limitless plains, where I 
was in great need of water, and often 
had to drink it so poor that it was more 
mud than water. Here the guides con- 
fessed to me that they had not told the 
truth in regard to the size of the horses, 
because they were of straw, but they had 
done so regarding the large number of 
iidiabitants and the other things about 
their habits. The Teyas disagreed with 
this, and on account of this division be- 
tween some of the Indians i-nd the olhcis, 
and also because many of the men I hal 
with me had not eaten anything except 
meat for some days, because we had 
reached the end of the corn we had car- 
ried from this province, and because they 
made it out more than forty days* jour- 
ney from where I fell in with the Teyas, 
to the country where the guides were 
taking me, although I appreciated the 
trouble and danger there would be in 
the journey, owing to the lack of water 
and corn, it seemed to me best, in order 
to see if there was anything there of ser- 
vice to your Majesty, to go forward with 
only thirty horsen en, until I should be 



GliAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



al)le to see the country, so as to give your 
^' Majesty a true account of what was to 
be found in it: 1 sent all the rest of the 
force I had with me to this province, 
with Don Tristan de Arellane in com- 
nmnd, because it would have been im- 
j)ossible to prevent the loss of many men, 
if all had gone on, owing to the lack of 
water and also because they had to kill 
l)ulls and cows on which to sustain them- 
selves. And with only the thirty hbrse- 
nien whom I took for my escort, I tra- 
veled forty days after I had left the 
force, living all the while on the flesh of 
ihe bulls and cows, which we killed at 
the cost of several of our horses which 
they killed, because, as I wrote your 
Majesty, they are very brave and tierce 
animals; and going many days without 
water, and cooking the food with cow 
dung, because there is not any kind of 
wood in all these plains, away from the 
kullies and rivers which are very few. 

It was the Lord's pleasure that after 
having jouri eyed .^across t' e^e deserts 
seventy-seven days, I arrived at the pro- 
, vince they call Quivera, to which the 
guides were conducting me,- and where 
they had described tome houses of stone, 
with many stories; and not only are they 
■ not of stone, but of straw, but the people 
in theih are as bai'barous asallthosel 
have seen and pa^psed before this; they do 
not have cloaks, nor cotton of which 
to make these, but use the skins of the 
cattla they kill, which they tan, because 
they are settled among these on a very 
large river. They eat the raw flesh like 
the Querechos and the Teyas; they are 
enemies of one another but are all the 
same sort of people, and these at Quivera 



have the advantage in the houses they 
build and in planting corn. In this pro- 
vince of which the guides who brought me 
are natives, they received me peaceably, 
although they told me when I set out for 
it that I would not succeed in seeing it 
all in two months, there are not more 
than twenty-five villages of straw houses 
there and in all the rest of the country 
that I saw and learned about, which gave 
their obedience to your Majesty and 
placed themselves under your overlord- 
ship. 

The people are large. I had several 
Indians measured and found that they 
were ten palms in height; the women are 
well proportioned and their features are 
more like Moorish women than Indians. 
The natives hei'e gave me a piece of cop- 
per which an Indian chief wore around 
his neck. I sent it to the viceroy of New 
S|»ain, because I have not seen any other 
metal in these parts except this and some 
little copper bells, which I sent him, and 
a bit of metal which looks like gold. I 
do not know where this came from, al- 
though I believe that the Indians who 
gave it to me obtained it from those 
whom I brought here in my service, be- 
cause I cannot find any other origin for 
it or where it came from. The diversity 
of languages which exists in this country 
and my not having anyone who under- 
stood them, because they speak their own 
language in each village, has hindered 
me, because I have been forced to send 
captains and men in many directions to 
find out whether there was anything in 
this country which could be of any ser- 
vice to your Majesty. And although I 
have searched with all diligence I have 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



not found nor heard of anything, unle.ss 
it be these provinces which are a very 
small affair. 

The province of Quivira is 950 leagues 
from Mexico. Where I reached it, it is 
in the fortieth degree. The country it- 
self is the best I have ever seen for pro- 
ducing all the products of Spain, for be- 
sides the land itself being very fat and 
black and being very well watered by the 
rivulets and springs and rivers, I found 
prunes like those of Spain, and nuts and 
very good sweet grapes and mulberries. 
I have treated the natives of this prov- 
ince and all others whom I found where- 
ever I went, as well as was possible, 
agreeably to what your Majesty had com- 
manded, and they have received no harm 
in any way from me or from those who 
went in my company, I remained 
twenty-five days in the province of Quiv- 
era so as to see and explore the county, 
and also find out whether there was any- 
thing beyond which could be of service 
to your Majesty, because the guides who 
had brought me had given me an account 
of other provinces beyond this. And 
what I insure of is that there is not any 
gold nor any other metal in all that 
country, and the other things of which 
they have told me are nothing but vil- 
lages, and in many of these they do not 
plant anything and do not have any 
houses except of skins and sticks, and 
they wander around with the cows; so 
that the account they gave was false, be- 
cause they wanted to persuade me to go 
there with the whole force, believing 
that as the way was through such unin- 
habited deserts, and from the lack of 
water, they would get us where we and 



our horses would die of hunger. And 
the guides confessed this, and said they 
had done it by the advice and orders of 
the natives of these provinces. At this, 
after having heard the account of what 
was beyond, which I have given above, I 
returned to these provinces to provide for 
the force I had sent back here and give 
your Majesty an account of what thi« 
country amounts to, because I wrote your 
Majesty I would do so when I went there. 
I have done all I possibly could ti 
serve your Majesty and to discover a 
country where God Our Lord might bfe 
served and the royal patrimony of your 
Majesty increased, as your loyal servant 
and vassel. For since I reached the pro- 
vince of Cibola, to which the viceroy of 
New Spain sent me in the name of your 
Majesty, seeing that there were none of 
these things there of which Friar Marcotj 
had told, I have managed to explore this 
country for 200 leagues and more around 
Cibola, and the best place I have found 
in this river of Tiguex where I am now and 
the settlements here. It would not be 
possible to establish a settlement here, 
for besides being 400 leagues from thtj 
North Sea and more than 200 from the 
South Sea, with which it is impossibly 
to have any sort of communication, the 
country is so cold, as I have written your 
Majesty, and apparently the winter could 
not possible be spent here, because there 
is no wood, nor cloth with which to pro- 
tect the men, except the skins which the 
natives wear and some small amount of 
cotton cloaks. I sent the viceroy of New 
Spain an account of everything I have 
seen in the new countries where I have 
been, and as Don Garcia Lopazde Car- 



OKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



denas is going to kiss your Majesty's band 
who has done much and has served your 
Majesty well on this expedition, and he 
will give your Majesty an account of 
everything here, as one who has seen it 
himself, I give way to him. And may 
our Lord protect the Holy Imperial Cath- 
olic person of your Majesty, with in- 
(•rease of greater kingdoms and ])owers, 
as your loyal servants and vassals desire. 

From this province of Tiguex, Novem- 
ber 20, in the year 1541. Your Majesty's 
humble servant and vassal, who would 
kiss the rojal feet aid hands. 

Francisco Vazquez Coronado. 

NoTK.- -The sentences referred to in the 
letter are: "It was the Lord's pleasure 

I arrived at the province of Quivera 

on a very large river." The river of 

"St. Peter and St. Paul" had been des- 
ignated "a large" river and when the 
Teucarea was reached, and it was found 
to be a larger body of water than the 
river of "St. Peter and St. Paul" it was 
descril ed as "a very large" river, which 
is fair evidence that the Missouri river 
is the body of water referred to. 

Ihe other sentence is: "Where I 
reached it, (Quivera) it is in the fortieth 
degree." If Coronado- reached the Mis- 
souri in the fortieth degree, he stood 
in the vicinity of what is now White 
( loud, and it was there he erected the 
cross, bearing the chiseled inscription, 
"Francisco Vazquez de Coronado, Gener- 
al of the Spanish Expedition to Quivera, 
reached this spot." 

In the absence of all genuine proof, we 
are left to accept the evidences that ap- 
pear in the journals which is that the 
Great Knight reached the bank of the 



river Teucarea, in the fortieth degree. 
There is, however, a wide divergence 
of opinion in this matter. On the map 
in Winship's Coronado, giving the sup- 
posed route of Coronado from, the city of 
Compostela, Mexico, to the northern 
bound ry of Kansas, the nearest approach 
to the Missouri river is about one hun- 
dred and fifty miles. General Simpson 
outlines the route bringing it a little 
nearer to the Missouri. Colonel Inman 
holds that the general and his forty 
horsemen reached the Missouri at the 
spot where Atchison town now stands, 
while D. Yv". Wilder is rather inclined to 
include both Donii)han and Brown 
counties in the path of the Knight's 
journey. This question may never be 
satisfactorily settled, but the mistake 
made by the bold adventurer must be ap- 
[)arent to all. In seeking gold, he 
spurned turning the rich soil wherein lay 
a real mine, which, for aver half a cen- 
tury has been yielding the yellow metal 
in paying r.uantities to the industrious 
inhabitants. Poor short-sighted knight! 
His reward was disappointment. All 
that he received was a- hatful of mul- 
berries and a few sour wild grapes. 
May his weary soul rest awhile. 



The Platte Parchase. 

In August 1821 when Missouri was 
admitted into the Union, her western 
boundary line ran straight north from the 
northwest corner of Arkansas through 
the mouth of the Kansas river to the 
Iowa line. Between the Missouri, the 
Iowa line and the western boundry line 



6 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



of Missouri, lay a triangular plot of land 
belonging to the Indian Territory. This 
became the "Platte Purchase" land and 
included all the lands now lying in Atch- 
ison, Nodaway, Holt, Andrews, Buchanan 
and Platte counties, in northwestern 
Missouri. 

Indians have ever been undesirable 
neighbors. The lowas and Sacs and 
Foxes were not only undesirable neigh- 
bors of the settlers of Worth, Gentry, 
DeKalb, Clinton and Clay counties, but 
also were in their way. To reach the 
Missouri river, then the only mode of 
transportation, these men were obliged 
to travel south to the mouth of the Kan- 
sas, and this seemed a difficult thing to 
have to do while there was a shorter way 
across. They could not travel through 
the Indian lands while the Indians were 
there, and it became necessary that the 
Indians, long used to moving, should 
again"move on." The territory being va- 
cated, such beautiful land should not be 
permitted to lay idle while the industri- 
ous Missouri farmers were so anxious aud 
willing to breakup its prairies aud sow 
them in grain. The will of the white 
men to possess the lands having pre- 
vailed, the way to obtain them was not 
long in suggesting itself. A "com- 
mittee" composed of E. M. Samuel, D. 
R. Atchison, W. T. Wood and Peter H. 
Burnett was selected to obtain full pos- 
session of this three cornered paradise. 
The committee soon made a favorable 
report, and Explorer William Clark, at 
that time agent for all the Indians west 
of the Mississippi, was sent to have a 
talk with the Indians. He met them in 
council at Fort Leavenworth, in Septem- 



ber 1836, and the result was that the 
lands of the Indians passed into the 
hands of the whites and the "Platte Pur- 
chase" was made. For their home and 
hunting grounds the Indians receivcil 
$7,500 in cash, and 400 sections of Ian I 
across the river, in what later became 
Doniphan and Brown counties. Besides 
these considerations the government 
agreed to build live houses for tlie lowas 
and three for the Sacs and the Foxe.s; 
promised to send an interpreter for each 
tribe, a farmer to teach them the art of 
agriculture, a blacksmith to sharpen their 
implements, and a teacher to teach thoiu 
the wisdom of books. Lest the noble red 
man fall in doubt and question the hon- 
esty and liberality of the white man, the 
government further agreed to break out 
200 acres of land, to furnish seed to sow 
the same, and to send provisions for one 
year. Later another promise was made 
to build two ferries that the tribes might 
pay an occasional visit to the old Mis- 
souri shore. 

The treaty bore the signature of Wil- 
liam Clark, Superintendent of Indian 
Affairs for the United States, and also 
the signature of many of the Indians. 
Mohoska, White Cloud; Naucheuing, No 
Heart; Wachenome, Orator; Neomone, 
Raining Cloud; Newanthauchu, Hair 
Shedder; Manhawka, Bunch of Arrows; 
Chatauthene,Big Bull; Manomone, Pump- 
kin; Congu, Plum, Wauthaueabechu, 
One that eats Rats; Chateathau, Buffalo 
Bull; Chataharaware, Foreign Buffalo, 
signed for the lowas. 

Cahaqua, Red Fox; Peshawka, Bear; 
Pecauma, Deer; Neboshoana, Wolf; 
Suquilla, Deer; Askepakekaasa, Green 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



Lake; Wapasee, Swan ; Nochatauwatasa, 
Star; Cancacarmack, Rock Bass; Seasoho 
Sturgeon; Peachimacarniack,Bald Headed 
Eagle, and Peachimacarmack, Jr. signed 
for the Sacs and Foxes. 

S. W. Kearney, John Dougherty, A. 
S. Hughes, George R. H. Clark, Wm. 
Dancan, Joseph V. Hamilton, Joseph 
llobiJoux, Jr., Wm. Bowman, Jeffrey 
Dorioii, Peter Constine, Jacques Mette 
and Louis M. Davison signed as wit- 
liesses. 

Thus was closed that famous deal in 
real estate known as "The Platte Par- 
cUase," and it is not known that the 
wiiite mail ever regretted having made 
tue deal. 



Indian History. 

We have many legendary accounts of 
tiie character and doings of the aborig- 
i.ial owners of the land now known as 
Kansas, but the tirst date entered in auth- 
entic history directly relating to our own 
li. T,le corner of the state records the ar- 
rival of M. DeBourgmont, commander at 
Ft. Orleans, and his expedition at the 
Kanza village at the mouth of Indepen- 
dence river, on the morning of July 8, 
1724. At that time the Kanza Indians 
were the undisputed owners of the lands 
of northeastern Kansas, and no doubt 
they had been in possession for at least 
half a century. Father Marquette, on 
his map of the Missouri and Mississippi 
country, made in 1673, located them (the 
Kanza) in practically the same region. 
The land was retained by them, and they 
held practical dominion over it until 
about fifty years after the visit of Bourg- 
mont. About that time(l775) the lowas 



and Sauks, who had been making war on 
the Osages along the lower Missouri, 
came west, crossing the Missouri above 
the mouth of the Kansas River, and in- 
vading the Kanza country in quest of 
game, and for the purpose of enriching 
themselves at the expense of the Kanzas. 
Although the Kanzas were a brave and 
warlike race, they were at a disadvantage 
in repelling the invaders, who were armed 
with the arms of the whites, purchased or 
stolen from the white traders on the Mis- 
sissippi. Beyond a doubt, between 1775 
and 1815, the land which we now occupy 
in peace, was the scene of many bloody en- 
counters between the invaders and defend- 
ers. The dust of the century covers the 
ancient battlefields, and the bones of fallen 
warriors have long since fallen into dust; 
yet here and there in the upturned soil we 
still find broken spear heads, arrow points 
and stone tomahawks, the last witnesses 
of the bloody strife of long forgotten 
days. 

Frcm 1775 to 1825 the Kanzas held 
cheir lands with difficulty, the govern- 
ment eventually coming to their assist- 
ance, buying their land and oft'ering them 
new quarters further west. The relin- 
quished territory was soon occupied by 
he lowas and Sacs and Kickapoos, the 
the former receiving the northern, while 
the latter were given the southern lands 
of the territory which, in 1855, became 
Doniphan Connty. 

The Kanza Indians.— The Kanza In- 
dians being for so long a time identified 
with the territory now belonging to Don- 
iphan County, a separate sketch of them 
may well find place in this volume. We 
havi trace I them from the time of 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTOKY 



Father Marquette's discovery of the"Pek- 
itanovii"(Mi8souri) river in 1673, to their 
quarters in the West, and now we may, 
with interest and profit, again go over 
the ground to examine into their habits, 
character, etc., and their relationship 
with other tribes and nations, coming at 
last to learn what has been their ultimate 

fate. 

Father Douay of the LaSalle expedi 
tion, IQ81, found that the Kanzas, as well 
as nearly all the other tribes on or near 
the Missouri, except the Pawnees, spoke 
the Dacotah language. It is evident from 
this that the ancient landlords of these 
hills wei-e descendants of a great nation | 
of red men which has occupied the valley 
of the Mississippi for hundreds of years. 
While the Kanzas retained many of the 
wild traits of their war-loving ancestors, 
they showed themselves capable of har- 
boring great friendships-especially for 
the representatives of the French govern- 
ment. Bourgmont with his army of 
Osages and Missouris were kindly received 
by them at their village at the mouth of 
Independence. They came to meet their 
visitors with the pipe of peace and with 
offerings of fruits, and according to 
Bourgmont's chronicler, they prepared 
for the visitors as many as six meals a day. 
About the year 1815, the demon in 
their nature began to show itself. White 
men passing up the Missouri, or ventur- 
ing across the prairies to the Rocky 
Mountains were attacked by them and 
robbed of their goods and supplies. 
Each year their insolence increased un- 
til in 1819 they attacked Capt. Martin's 
command which was on its way to a 
point on the upper Missouri. Shortly 



after this occurrence, Indian Agent Ma- 
jor Thomas O'Fallon called a council of 
the chiefs of the different tribes, a;id a 
meeting was held on Cow Island in the 
Missouri, near the present site of Atchi- 
son, on the 24th of August, 181U. The 
Major made a speech, fired a cannon, 
shot off a few rockets, hoisted a flag and 
proved to the red men in many other 
ways that he was a "good fellow." He 
obtained a promise from the chiefs that 
the rights of the whites should be re- 
spected ever thereafter. 
I When not annoyed by the encroach- 
Imentsofthewhites, orby the raids of 
other thieving bands of Indians, warriors 
of this tribe were peaceful enough; but 
there were just enough of these disturb- 
ances to keep stirred the tires of resent- 
ment and revenge. In 1840 these Indians 
were visited by Father DeSmet. In lus 
-Sketches" Father DeSmet mentions 
"their unsatiable blood lust, and measure- 
less, ingenious cruelty to their prisoners 
and foes." However, he does not fail to 
give them credit for their good qualities. 
"However cruel they may be to their foes 
the Kanzas are no strangers to the tendei- 
est sentiments of piety, friendship and 
compassion. They are often inconsolable 
for the death of relatives, and leave 
nothing undone to give proof of their 
sorrow. Then only do they suffer their 
hair to grow, long hair being the sign of 
mourning. The principal chief apolo- 
gized for the length of his hair, inform- 
ing us of what we could have divined 
from the sadness of his countenance, 
that he had lost his son. I wish I could 
represent to you the respect, astonish- 
Imentand compassion expressed on th 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTOlftY. 



9 



counteTinnces of three others, when they 
visited our little chapel for the first time. 
We showed them an "Ecco Homo" and 
a statue of Our Lady of the Seven 
Dolors, and the interpreter explained to 
them that that Head, crowned with thorns, 
and that Countenance, defiled with insults, 
were the true and real image of God who 
died for the love of us, and that the heart 
they saw pierced with seven swords was 
the heart of His mother, we beheld an 
affecting illustration of the beautiful 
thought of Tertullian, "that the soul of 
man is naturally Christian." 

The Kanzas believe in a Great Spirit 
and a Happy Hunting Grounds. To tiiem 
marriage was a solemn and important 
thing, and was celebrated with becoiuing 
ceremonies. None but a chaste squaw 
might become the wife of a chief, or 
«ven an ordinary brave. The women had 
supreme control of domestic affairs, and 
took pride in excelling in the neat and 
convenient arrangement of thing^s both 
within and withput their simple abodes. 

In the year 1815 the first treaty be- 
tween tlve United Statjs gi>vVcrnment and 
the Kanza Indians was ''made and con- 
cluded." It was a peace treaty, by which 
all past wrongs and injuries infiicted and 
suffered by both feides were forgiven and 
friendly relations established for the 
future. The Indians made their treaty 
with August Cheteau and Nini. n Ed- 
wards, United States Commissioners. 

By a second treaty made in June, 1825, 
the Kanza Indians ceded their lands to 
the government and followed the fatal 
march of their race toward the western 
horizon, bidding farewell forever to the 
hills and streams that had been their 



home and hunting grounds for more than 
one hundred years. 

Emigrant Indians. 

The emigrant tribes to the territory 
relinquished by the Kanza Indians, and 
now included in our County, were the 
Kickapoos, the lowas and the Missouri 
Sacs and Foxes. 

The Kickapoos.— These Indians origin- 
ally came from the Ohio river country. 
About 1803 they moved west of the Mis- 
sissippi, occupying the territory of the 
Osage river in Missouri. In 1832, they 
ceded those lands to the government and 
in 1836-7 were removed to new cfuarters 
in the "Indian Territory," of which the 
lands now known as Kansas were then a 
part. The tribe, divided into many 
bands, numbered at tkat time less than 
500 souls. Their reservation included 
all of the land now included in Doniphan 
County lying south of the line running 
west from a point on the Missouri river 
near where the old town of Bellemont 
stood, and passing just south of the 
present site of Highland. We have the 
names of but a few of the principal 
chiefs, Wathena was chief of the little 
band whose village was located on the site 
of the town that perpetuates its name. 
Peataquork and his band were quartered 
somewhere near the western part of the 
county, and Kennekuk, the prophet and 
farmer, perhaps was located with his 
charge near the south central portion. 
The last named died near the old stage 
station in Atchison county which bore 
his name, and where he is said to lie 
buried in an old well. Early white 
traders with the Kickapoos were; Peter 
Cadue, Josephus Utt, J. F. Foreman, 



10 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



Benjamin Harding, Major Vanderslice, 
W. P. Richardson, J, R. Whitehead, 
and others. 

The Kickapoos, unlike so many of 
their race, were industrious and ambi- 
tious to learn and follow the ways of their 
white brothers. They planted corn and 
raised pumpkins, watermelons and 
squashes. The stone weapons of warfare 
found on their lands were not of their 
manufacture, nor were they made use of 
frequently, for the Kicka^joos were 
neither warriors nor hunters while they 
resided in this country. During their 
residence in the fertile valley of the In- 
dependence there was a long reign ol 
peace. The bloody battlellelds of the 
fierce Kanzas were clean washed by the 
rain, and the graves of fallen warrior.- 
were leveled by washing soil and coveied 
with carpetings of grass. So the white 
man found it when, in 1854, he came 
with his plow and oxen to furrov/ it 
loamy soil and build his cabin on tiij 
banks of its silver streams. 

The low as.— The lowns came from tlit 
north Mississippi regiojis to the lands 
now included in southern Iowa and 
northern Missouri. In the year 183 7, 
together with the Sacs and Foxes, they 
were assigned to new quarters in the 
"Indian Territory," just north of the 
Kickapoos, i. e., the lands lying in what 
now is Doniphan County, Kansas, and 
Richardson County, Nebraska. 

Within a year after locating in their 
new lands they were visited by many 
ti-aders, and by Rev. S. M. Irvin, repre- 
senting the Presbyterian Board of For- 
eign Missions. Early in 1837 this zeal- 
us missionary o'ganized the famous 



Mission near the present site of High- 
land. In 1845, with the assistance of 
Rev. Wm. Hamilton, he founded a 
school for the Indians, which was con- 
tinued through many difficulties, and 
with varying degrees of success and fail- 
ure, until 1854, for the lowas and Sacs 
and Foxes had not the industry and 
peaceful ambitions of their southern 
neighbors, the 'followers of the great 
prophet and farmer, Kennekuk. Al- 
though the missionaries labored faith- 
fully and continually for the spiritual 
and temporal welfare of their charge, it 
seems that little of the hoped for success 
was attained. Edward E. Hale, in his 
"Kansas and Nebraska," published in 
1854, says, pages 22 and 23: "Just south 
of the north line of Kansas are a body of 
lowas, removed from their old homes. 
They number 437. They have proiitted 
but little from the payments annually 
made to them; are seduced into a loiter- 
ing, lazy life, by emigrants passing to the 
Pacilic; improvident in their habits, and 
consequently decreasing in numbers. 
From 830 they have diminished, in six- 
teen years, to 437; having been all that 
time receiving annuities from the govern- 
ment; and most of it under the care ot 
missionaries and government ageut.->. 
They wear no dross but the blanket. 
Their crops are short, and their houses, 
built for them by the government, have 
gone to decay. Of the lowas and Sacs, 
nineteen girls and seventeen boys were 
last year(1853) at school. They live at 
the school, under the care of the teacher. 
There is not, in tie Iowa reservation, 
one adult profess. :ig Christianity, and the 
reports of those in charge of them are 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



11 



r.re truly disheartening.'" By vriiy of 
conlrav'^t t)ie same author continues: 
'•The Kickapoos are next soutli of them on 
the Missoari river; their condition is 
Ixtter than their neighbors, and the 
aaeiit seems to consider tliat it "vvill im- 
prove with the stoppage of their annui- 
ties, which, by treaty, v/ere to cease last 
year." 

The lowas had four principal chiefs, 
White Cloud, Nohart, Walk-in-the-Rain, 
and Walking Cloud. One of the com- 
mon Avarriors was Shoontunga (Little 
Wolf) but he was no common man, as 
C ommissioner Mauypenny discovered, 
wlitn lie came to treat with the lowas. 
^. hile the chiefs and other Indians were 
anxi.ous to ti a le their lands to the whites 
whatever price olfered. Little Wolf, pa- 
triotic as he was wise, fought the treaty 
and demanded an impossible price for 
the land. '-We are willing to exchange 
oar land for your gold," declared the elo- 
quent redskin, with many a wild gesture 
of the right arm, and with the lightning 
of defiance flaishing ift his eye, "but you 
must give us pound for pound." How- 
ever, his speech fell on unsympathetic 
ears. Commissioner Manypeuny knew 
that things were coming his way and the 
will of the government was accomplished 
during the next year when the treaty was 
concluded. 

The Sacs and the Foxes.— This band 
numbered about 300 in 1837. They 
came from Missouri and were quartered 
on Wolf River between the Kickapoos on 
the aouth and the lowas on the north, 
tftieir allotment of land consisting of fifty 
sections. Three chitfs ruled the band, 
which was divided into many villages. 



Hooper's Ford district was the siteofPet- 
eokema's band; Nesourquoit's warriors 
pitched their tents in the Bayne Bridge 
country, while Moless and his band found 
comfortable quarters and a health resort.M 
the mineral springs in the hills near the 
present site of Highland Station. These 
Indians, although reduced in numbers to 
almost nothing, were not subdued in 
spirit. They came from fighting ances- 
tors in the region of Lake Huron, and 
although they were many times driven 
from their lands, every foot of it was her- 
oically contested, and when finally relin- 
quished was red with the blood of as 
true patriots as ever faced death for their 
rights. Even during their residence 
here they were participators in a bloody 
battle with a disturbing band of roving 
Pawnees which came down on their res- 
ervation in 1 §44, and were the glorious 
victars. 

As large game grew scarce on the res- 
ervation the warriors were sometimes 
obliged to do a little farming, but the 
science of agriculture had for them little 
fascination, and falling into the way of 
easy living, they contracted diseases 
which soon reduced their numbers to a 
sorrowful few. 

On many Wolf River bluffs, and on 
the hills of Independence river are still 
visible the stone covered graves of their 
dead, and much of their history lies 
buried with them. The wand of civil- 
ization has touched its golden point to 
hill and valley and there has been a com- 
plete trangformation which " would be- 
wilder the eyes of the aboriginal owners 
to see. But, alas! they are not here to 
see. 



CHAPTER II. 



DONIPHAN COUNTY. 

Explored by Coronado in 1541. 
Visited by M. DeBourgmont in 1724. 
Examined by Lewis and Clark in 1804. 
Founding of the Iowa Mission, 1837. 
Printing press set up at Iowa Mission, 
1843. 

Treaty with lowas. Sacs, Foxes and 
Kickapoos, 1854. 

Organization in 1855, with five muni- 
oipal townships. 

Pioneer newspaper. The Doniphan 
Constitutionalist, issued 1S5G. 

Highland University chartered, 1858. 

The Roseport & Palmetto railroad be- 
gan building I860. First railroad in 
both territory and county. 

Contains 379 square miles. 

Has 92 miles of river boundry. 

Length, 27 miles; width, 25 miles. 

Named for General Alexander William 
Doniphan. 

Has eight water courses: Wolf river, 
Independence creek, Brush creek, Peter's 
week. Mosquito creek. Cedar creek. Wal- 
nut creek, and Rock creek. 



OEN. ALEXANDER W. DONIPHAN. 

The following interesting sketch of the 
great man for whom our County was 
named, is offered to our readers with 
confidence. The sketch is new and ac- 
curate, having been prepared in 1904, by 
a sjeMal correspondent of the St. Joseph 
News. A greater monument to his mem- 
ory than Doniphan County, Kansas, the 
famous Missouri general can never hoj e 
to have, and while we are grateful for 
the name, he should be thankful for the 
perpetuation of his memory. 

"Born in Kentucky in 1603, Doniphan 
became a Missourian in 1830. 

'•In the Mormon riots of Jackson, La- 
fayette, Clay and Ray counties, in tiie 
cause of law and order, and by his own 
bravery and clear judgment, prevented 
fighting and bloodshed that would have 
been a reproach to the state. 

"After the capture of some of the Mor- 
mon leaders, it is said that at a council 
of tlie leading militia officers, it was 
voted by nearly three to one to put there 
Itaders to death. Cal. Lewis Wood saAs 
that th'.ir lives were .,. ly saved bv tLe 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



13 



intervention of General Doniphan, who 
not only urged his authority as a briga- 
(lit r, but declared he would defend the 
prisoners with his own life. 

"The personality of Doniphan was 
most interesting. It is related that when 
Abraham Lincoln met the Missourian, 
he said: "Doniphan, you are the only 
man I have ever met whose appearance 
came up to my expectations. 

"In his history of Doniphan's expedi- 
tion, John T. Hughes has said: "While 
commanding the army. Colonel Doni- 
phan rarely wore any military dress; so 
he could not be distinguished from one 
of the men whom he commanded. He 
fared as the soldiers, and often prepared 
his own meals. Any private man in his 
camp might approach him with the 
greatest freedom, and converse on what- 
ever topic pleased him. Whoever had 
business might approach his tent and 
wake him, for he neither had a body 
guard nor persons to transact business 
lor him." 

"Doniphan won more than a local fame 
ns a public speaker. He served in the 
legislature in 1836, 1840 and 1845 as a 
Whig. He had studied law in Kentucky 
rnd his career at the Missouri bar was 
indeed worthy. He refused to become a 
candidate for office many times, but in 
1861 he served his cause in the conven- 
tion that assumed control of the affairs 
( f Missouri. This convention is usually 
called the "Gamble Convention," though 
Hamilton R. Gamble did not preside 
over it. As the chairman of the com- 
mittee on federation relations, and later 
as the governor of the state, Gamble was 
indeed a leading figure. Doniphan, a 



strong Union man, was a member of this 
committee on federal relations, a com- 
mittee that for a time controlled the con- 
vention, and through it the whole state, 
keeping Missouri in the Union. 

"General Doniphan married a daughter 
of Col. John Thornton of Clay county. 
Their two sons died before reaching the 
age of manhood. The Doniphan and 
Thornton families were united by more 
than one marriage. Col. John Doniphan, 
a nephew of Gen. A. W. Doniphan, 
married a daughter of Col. John Thorn- 
ton. Gen. A. W. Doniphan died in 
1887, and was buried at Liberty, his old 
home. 

"In 1846 General Doniphan, then col- 
onel of the first regiment of Missouri 
cavalry, accompanied Gen. Kearney to 
Mexico, by way of the Santa Fe trail. 
Arduous marches were theirs. Battles 
were fought, and late in the year Gen- 
eral Kearney left Doniphan in command, 
and undertook his journey to California. 

"On Christmas Day 1846, occurred the 
battle of Brazito, between Doniphan and 
his men on one side and the Mexicans on 
the other. The Missourians were vic- 
torious, and two days later entered the 
city of El Paso without opposition. 
However, the Missourians were not far 
in the interior of a hostile country. 
Doniphan had orders to report to Gen. 
Wool, who was supposed to be at Chi- 
huahua, and these orders were vague, for 
it was not known where Gen. Wool was 
then operating. Doniphan's orders were 
to report to Wool, not to invade the state 
of Chihuahua. In telling the story of the 
expedition, John T. Hughes says: 

" 'Thus was Colonel Doniphan cir- 



u 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



cumstanced: With an army less than 
1,000 strong he was on his march, lead- 
ing through inhospitable sandy wastes, 
against a powerful city, which had been 
deemed of so much importance by the 
government that Gen. Wool, with 3,500 
men and a heavy park of artillery, had 
been directed hither to effect its subju- 
gation. What then must have been the 
feelings of Col. Doniphan and his men, 
when they saw the states of Chihuahua 
and Durango in arms to receive them, 
not the remotest prospect of succor from 
Gen. Wool, and intervening and un- 
peopled deserts precluding the possibil- 
ity of successful retreat? 'Victory or 
death' were the alternatives.' 

"The Missourians began their extraor- 
dinary march across the deserts into the 
heart of the hostile country. The Mex- 
icans caine out to meet them it the river 
Sacrramento, out of the city of Chiliualiua. 
Then ensued a desperate battle, which 
was the crown of all the victories won by 
the Missourians. 

"•The strength of Doniphan was 924 
men and six pieces of artillery. The 
Mexicans had 4,224 men and ten pieces 
of artillery. The Americans h st one 
killed and eleven wounded, while the 
Mexicans lost 820 killed, 500 wounded 
and 72 taken prisoners. 

"Donij)han had brought Ortiz, the cur- 
ate of El J*aso, with his little army. In 
his account of the expedition, Hughes re- 
lates that Ortiz asked Doniphan to allow 
him to retire to a place of safety, saying: 
'Your force is too weak to contend 
against such a force as the Mexican 
army, and in so strong a position; you 
will all be inevitably destroyed or cap- 



tured and put in chains. The Mexicans 
will whip you beyond a doubt. I beg 
you will permit me to remain out of 
danger. ' 

"Col, Doniphan replied most good- 
humoredly: 'If I should be victorious 
I will continue to treat you in a manner 
every way worthy of your dignity. If 
your own people should be the conquerors 
and you should fall into their hands, 
they will certainly do you no hurt. So, 
being safe in either event, you n usthave 
little cause for apprehension.' 

"When the battle was over, Col. Don- 
iphan observed to the curate: "Well, 
Ortiz, what do you think now about the 
Mexicans whip})ing my boys?' The other 
replied: 'Ah, sir, they would have de- 
feated you if you had fought like men, 
but you fought like devils.' 

"Hughes says that so certain of victory 
were the Mexicans, that they had pre- 
pared strings and handcuffs with which 
they meant to drive us prisoners to the 
City of Mexico, as they did the Texans 
in 1841. 

"The situation of Doniphan and his 
men is well described by the commander 
in a letter to Judge John F. Ryland of 
Lexington, Mo. Colonel Doniphan 
wrote after the battle of Sacramento, 
which had given Chihuahua to the Amer- 
icans. He says: 'My orders are to re- 
port to General Wool; but I now learn 
that instead of taking the City of Chi- 
huahua, he is shut up at Saltillo by 
Santa Anna. Our position will be tick- 
lish, if Santa Anna should compel Taylor 
or Wool even to fall back. We are out 
of the reach of help, and it would be as 
unsafe to go backward as forward. 



GKAV'S DONIPHAN COUNTY lilSTOKY. 



15 



High spirits and a bold front, is 
l»t'r'iaps the best policy. 

" "My inon are rough, ragged and 
ready having one more of the K's 
than General Taylor himself. We have 
been in service nine months; any of my 
nu-n, after marching 2,000 miles, over 
mountains and deserts, have not received 
one dollar of their pay, yet they stand it 
without murmuring. Half rations, hard 
inarches and no clothes! But they are 
^.till game.' 

* 'There was little more fighting for 
Doniphan's Mlssourians. Bucna Vesta 
had been added to the names of brilliant 
vict«jries in the Mexican war. The fa- 
tigues of a long and trying journey were 
to be endured, however. To Saltillo 
was a distance of 675 miles, through an 
arid and desolate country. Arriving 
t:are the Missourians made their way b^ 
various stages to New Orleans, and tlu n 
JiOiue to Missouri. 

'Sg. Louis gave to the returning vol- 
unteers a generous and joyful welcome. 
At Camp Lucas, Olive, Twelfth and 
Fourteenth streets, Thos. H. Benton ad- 
dressed the Mexican veterans, in the 
presence of 7,0U0 people. All over the 
state celebrations were in progress. 
INlissouri received her valiant sons with 
expressions of appreciation and affection. 

"One of the choice treasures of the 
Missouri Historical Society is a flag of 
the St. Luuis Light Artillery in the Mex- 
ican war. It bears a laurel wreath, and 
the nan:e , "Canad, Pueblo de Taos, 
Brazito, Sicamento," embroidered upon 
it. 

"Doniphan and his Missourians had 
male one o" t-he most extraordinary ex- 



peditions of the time. Missouri ha^ 
numy reasons to revere the memory of 
Doniphan. He served his state through 
all the years of a long life. C/itizenship 
of the order represented in the career of 
Alexander William Doniphan should be 
held in high esteem. 



Some "First" Thing's. 

White Man.— M. DeBourgmont com- 
manding the French expedition fi'om Ft. 
Orleans at the mouth of the Osage to the 
J^adouca country in the region of the 
Smoky Hill river was the first white man 
to set foot on what is now Doniphan 
county soil. Coronado saw the JNIissouri 
river somewhere in the vicinity of White 
Cloud; but there is no certain proof that 
he kicked uj) any dust in the territory 
now belonging to our nook of the river. 
DeBourgmont, with his command, 
crossed the Missouri river and landed 
"within gunshot" of the Canzas' village 
which was situated at the Independence 
creek near the present site of Doniphan. 
This was on the 3rd of May, 1724. The 
exact location of the ancipnt Canzas vil- 
hige was discovered in 190.3 by George 
J. Remsbnrg, an ofllcer of the Western 
Historical Society, 

School. --The first school for white 
cliildren was in what now is District No. 
50, near Highland. John F. Sparks 
taught the first term, in 1858. At a 
meeting held July 23rd of that year, 
school officers were elected: S. Prit- 
chard. Director, M, M. Sharp, clerk, 
and C. L. Martin, treasurer. The school 
house was a log cabin erected on or near 
the present site of the school house in 
District No. 56. 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



Death.— Mrs. Conistock, an emigrant's 
wife, died on the Oregon Trail near the 
Mission, in 1842. This is said to have 
been the first death of a white person 
within the limits of the county. 

Graveyard.— The Cumberland l*res- 
byterian graveyard just west of \N Oif 
river, near Bayne's bridge, is the oldest 
in the country. One of the tirst to be 
buried therein was tlie wife of a man 
named Corastock, who died near the 
Mission in 1842. The place contains 
many unmarked gravts, while many 
others are marked only by rude stones. 
Some years ago the wagon road ran di- 
rectly through the graveyard, tiie wheels 
of the wagons grinding against head- 
stones and jolting over the sunken and 
forgotten graves. 

Grove.— The first grove set out on the 
high prairie v.'as by Clias. H. Phillips, 
in 1850, on his land near the present site 
of Bendena, owned by J. ^^'. Howard. 
The trees grew from year-old sap 
lings brought from the Missouri river 
near Doniphan. For many years this 
grove was the })ride of the prairies, and 
was known far and wide as Prairie 
Grove. In 1881 a heavy sleet and rain 
storm stripjted the proud old trunks of 
their boughs, and they fell into decay. 
A straggling few of the old trees still 
remain as sad remnants of a once beauti- 
ful grove. 

History.— In 1868 Smith & Vaugliaii 
published the lirst history of the county. 
It was called "A History and Directory" 
but was a directory rather than a history. 
It contained a list of the names of resi- 
dents of the county and a catalogue of 



business and professional men with their 
advertisements; also t'e county's Soldiers' 
Register. 

Lodge.— Smithton Lodge No 1, A. F. 
& A. M., was organized early in 1854 at 
the old town of Smithton in Burr Oak 
township. 'J he lo(ige received its 
charter November 30, 1854. First of- 
ficers of tliis first lodge were: J. W. 
Smith, W. M , K. 11. Kineiiart, S. W., 
1). \ audi rslice, Jr., W. 

Bai'tist: C'hukoh.— The Baptists had 
their iirst urgnnization at \^ athena, in 
June 1858, when eigit members were 
present. Elder \V. Price and Rev. E. 
Alward were organizers. 

Catholic Church.— 'I'lie first Catiiolic 
church was erected in Doniphan in 185/, 
uiuler the pastoral charge of Fatiier 
Augustine Wirth, U. b. B., Lut services 
were held in private houses as early a.:i 
1855. 

Cc)X(iRKGATioxAL Church.— The Cou- 
gregat'.onalists had their ;irst organi/;Uiou 
at iliglilaiid in October, lotto. Fiftet'U 
members were present. The past.r vras 
Rev. 11. P. Robinson. 

CiiURCu OF God.— The first congrega- 
tion of the Church of God, sometimes 
insinuatingly called "Soul Sleepers," as- 
sembled at the school house in District 
No. 7, known as Syracuse district, in 
18G5, under the direction of W. P 
Shockey of Nebraska. Win. J. Ore : 
was chosen to act as local director, an 
he performed faithfully the duties of 
that office for nearly forty years, or until 
his death in 1904. The congregation 
began with about forty members. 



OKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



17 



M. E. Cm !{( H,— Tl e first organization 
of -which we h:ive a record was at feinith- 
ton, in Burr Oak township, with Kev. 
Hiram Burch pastor in charge. This 
was August 1, 1855. 

Presbyterian C iiukch.— Tlie Pr sb}- 
terians had their first organization at tiie 
Mission near the present site of Higli'and 
in 1842. Seven members were present. 

Episcopal Church.— An Episcopal so- 
ciety was formed at Troy in 185 7 by llev. 
Ryan. Services were lield in the court 
house. 

CoLORKI) I^APTIST C'HURCH.— Tlie Ncijro 

Baptist church at White Chuid org; n- 
i.ied in 1875, was the first in the county 
and was in charge of Rev. J. 11. Straw- 
tlier. Twenty-siv members were prtseuo 
it the organizing. 



Revs. S. M. Irwin and W'li- H;hii- 
ilton, acting under the ausjiices of the 
American Board of Foreign jSlissions of 
the Prcsl>yterian cluirch ma<ie the lirs 
settlement near the present sii(^ of Higii- 
hiiid on a small stream to which was 
giviii the name of Mission Cnek. This 
v.asin 1837. 

The first harvester and liindcr com- 
bined to do work in our county, and per- 
haps also the first in the state, was 
owr.ed by A. Low, who used it to cut 
and bind his 1863 crop of wheat grown 
on his farm just northwest of Doniplian. 
Mr. Low, being in a liurry to have his 
wheat harvested, had a maciiine expressed 
to hiii. from a factory in the East, the ex- 
press charges amounting to 1425. 

'1 he lirs: steamboat to plow the turbid 
waters of the ]\ii^souri, washing the 



shores of l)oni})han county belonged to 
Major Long who passed up the river in 
it in 181!). 

In 186!) the Roseport & Palmetto 
railroad, not only the first road in the 
county, but also the first in the state, 
was built from the Missouri river at El- 
wood to Wathena, a distance of about 
four miles. On account of war troubles 
the building of the road was abandoned 
until 1868, when it was extended, 
taking the name St. .Joseph & Denver 
City railroad. 

The first printing jiress was operated 
at the JNlission by S. M. Irvin and Wm. 
Hamilton, missionaries to the lowas and 
Sacs and Foxes, 'fhe first of a- number 
of books and phamphlets relating to 
Indian education, text books in the Iowa 
language, was i)riiit('d iJicre in 1842-3. 

The first emigrant train, made up of 
about 25 v/agonsand led by Peter Bur- 
nett, passed through the northern part of 
the county in 1842. This was the be- 
ginning of the north branch of the Cali- 
fornia and Oregon trail from the Belle- 
mont bend of the Missouri. 

On the 3rd of July 1845, Rev. Wm. 
Hamilton performed the first marriage 
ceremony when Ik; united Silas Peirce 
and Mary Shook at the Mission. 

I>eyond a doubt the first Fourth of 
July celebration was at the mouth of In- 
dependence creek in 1804, by the explor- 
ers, Lewis and Clark and party. 

The birth of the first white child oc- 
curred at the Mission. There, in 1837, 
Elliott, son of JNIissionary S. M. Irvin, 
was born. No doubt the little fellow 
was an object of much curiosity to the 



18 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



Indians, many of whom had never seen a 
"pale faced" baby. 

Mill creek was the site of the first mill 
which was built to grind meal for the 
Indians, who, becoming suspicious ot 
the improvements of the whites, proved 
their ingratitude by burning the mill. 
The date of the building of the mill is 
not certainly known, but it was destroyed 
about 1853. 

The Doniphan Constitutionalist was 
the pioneer paper, started in 1856 by a 
pro-slavery Democrat, Thomas J. Key. 
It was published at Doniphan. It sus- 
pended publication in the summer of 
1858. 

Dr. F. C. Hoffmeir, of Troy, was the 
pioneer physician in 1871. 

Adam Brenner built the first elevator 
in Doniphan in 1807. This was also the 
iirst elavator in the state. Capacity, 4u- 
000 bushels; cost, $1(5,000-, destroyed h\ 
iire in 1872; insurance; $3,000. 

J. P. Johnson opened the lirst bank a' 
Highland in 18(52. At that time tliLic 
were only two other banks in the state, 
one at Lawrence and one at Atchison. 

The tirst survey line was made by J . P- 
Johnson of Highland in 1854, by govern- 
ment appointment. It was the tirst hue 
west of the Missouri river and was tli - 
base line for the surveys of 1855-6. 

Wm. Flynn owned and operated the 
first distillery in the county, if not in the 
state, near Iowa Point in 1854. 

The first company of the first regiment 
sent from Kansas into the army was or- 
ganized at El wood. 

The first lodge of Good Templars both 



in the county and in the state was insU- 
tuted at Iowa Point in 1856. 

School District No. 1 was organized at 
Wathena in the spring of 1858. 

The first County Fair was held at Troy 
in August, 1868. 

The tirst telephone line ran into Troy 
about 1884. 



Water Courses. 

The county is watered by a number of 
copious streams fed by ever flowing 
springs, generously scattered throughout 
the land. The main streams are here 
described: 

Cedar Creek.-This stream takes its 
rise in the western part of the county, 
following in a northeasterly course to 
within about three and one half miles 
west of Iowa Point, and from thence, 
taking an easterly direction and empty- 
into the Missouri at Iowa Point. This 
stream supplies the county with good 
stock water, and drains about fifty square 
miles of the north western part of the 
county . 

Wolf River. -This fine stream rises be- 
yond the western line of the county, a 
little south of the centre. With its trib- 
utaries it drains a large scope of the best 
farming land in the county. Rising near 
the county line, it takes an easterly di- 
rection for four or five miles, which 
brings it near the centre of Wolf River 
township. From thence it journeys in a 
northeasterly direction for nearly six 
miles, or until it reaches the Baynes's 
Bridge country, where it changes 
to a^iortherly course, which it con- 
tinues in until it finds the Missouri, 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



19 



about three and a half miles north of 
Highland Station. There is a plentiful 
supply of timber on this stream. 

MoS'^uito Creek.— This stream rises 
near the centre of the county, not far 
from Troy and flows almost directly 
north into the Missouri, near the old 
town of Mt. Vernon. This creek, also, 
is well supplied with timber, and, if 
there is anything in a name, with mos- 
quitoes alsio. 

Peter's Creek.— Peter's Creek begins 
its course at Troy and wanders due east to 
\\ athena, a distance of about eight miles 
whore a change is made, the course 
leading south a mile before the Missouri 
is reached. For some time the watei'sof 
this stream propelled the wheels of the 
lirist mill. There is a large tract of 
rich farm land in Peter's Creek valley. 

Walnut Creek.— This stream rises on 
tlie line between Washington and Marion 
townships, and takes a southeasterly di- 
rection, emptying into the Missouri at 
Palermo. The stream is about live miles 
in length. 

Brush Creek. — Brush CVeek rises in 
Clarion township about live miles due 
west of Palermo and flows in a south- 
easterly direction and empties into the 
Missouri at Geary City. Tlie stream is 
about five miles in length, and its waters 
have been used to propel the machinery 
of a mill. The valley is wide and fer- 
tile. 

Rock Creek.— This creek rises a few 
miles southwest of Troy, and with its 
tributaries drains nearly the whole south- 
easterly portion of the county. It runs 
almost due south emptying into the In- 



dependence near Doniphan. The valley 
of this stream was full of settlers at an 
early day when wood and water were the 
chief requisites. 

Independence River.— This stream is 
one of the largest in the county. The 
Independence rises in the south-western 
part of the county, near the western line, 
and flows in a southeasterly direction, 
emj)tying into the Missouri just below 
Doni})iian. The length of the stream is 
a! out twelve miles, and its bottoms are 
extensive and exceedingly fertile. 

Cold Springs Branch.— This pretty 
little stream received its name from Cold 
Sphigs, an old stiition on the Pottawa- 
tcniie Trail near the present site of Ben- 
d( na. Ti.e spring from which it takes 
its rise wao of an icy nature which sug- 
gested the name to some thirsty traveller. 
The stream is about six miles long. 
Flowing west and north, it empties into 
V\ olf Kiver below Ryan Station. 



The Pony Express. 

The sketch here presented of the once 
famous Pony Express was- prepared by us 
from notes taken from the Daily News 
"Hi^t )i'y ')f B lahauau County and St. 
Joseph," from newspaper and magazine 
articles on the subject, and from the 
lips of })ioneers by whose doors 
lay the route followed by the riders 
of the Express. 

The Pony PL^press was established in 
1860 by Wm. II. Russell, of the over- 
land freighting firm of Russell, Majors 
<fe Waddell. Omitting the particulars of 
the gigantic preparations made for the 
establishing of the Express, we set our- 



20 



GRAY'S DOKIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



self at once to a description of its begin- 
ning and actual working. All arrange- 
ments having been satisfactorily com- 
pleted within a comparatively short per- 
iod of sixty days, the day was set for the 
first start, and on that date, April 
3, 1860, at 5:30 p. m., immediately after 
the arrival of the Hannibal luid St. 
Joseph train, Johnny Fry, tie first 
rider, started from the yard of the 
Pikes' Peak stables, south of Patee 
Park in St. Joseph, Missouri. Riding 
to the express office on North Second 
street, he received his dispatches there, 
and at the tiring of a cannon, dashed 
away to the ferry boat with the loud 
hurrahs of a vast croud ringing in his 
ears, 



Landing on Kansas soil at Elwood, he 
set spurs to his horse and galloped 
away across the prairies of Doniphan, 
Brown and Nemeha counties to Seneca, 
passing the four stations and covering 
the intervening space of sixty miles in 
about eight hours. The general direc- 
tion of his route through our County lay 
by the present sites of Wathena, Troy, 
Bendena, Denton and Purcell, almost 
along the course of the Rock Island 

road . 

The distance between St. Joseph and 
San Francisco, 1950 miles, was covered 
in 232 hours. The start from San F'ran- 
cisco was made at the same hour of the 
same day, but a steamer was used from 
San Francisco to Sacramento, from which 
latter place the riding actually began, the 
rider being Harry Roff . The route lay 
through Forts Kearney, Laramie, Bridger, 
Salt Lake City, Camp Floyd, Carson 
City, Washoe Silver Mines, Placerville, 



and many other places to Sacramento. 
Although called the Pony Express, as 
a matter of fact, no ponies were used. 
American horses from Iowa and Illinois 
were purchased for the occasion. The 
Express was operated for a period of 
about eighteen months, from April 186U 
to November, 1861. It has been said 
that the operators lost about 1100,000 by 
the undertaking. 

Johnny Fry, John Burnett, Jack Keet- 
ley, Chas. Cliff and Gus Cliff were among 
the' early riders out of St. Joseph. For 
their services they received about forty 
dollars a month and their maintainance. 
While in St. Joseph they were quartered 
at the Patee House. Kennekuk, in Brown 
County, once well known to prairie trav- 
ellers, but now scarcely more than a 
memory, was a meal station for the riders, 
the first west of St. Joseph. The hotel 
there was kept by Mr. Baldwin, whose 
daughter, Mrs. John l^ollinds, still 
lives in that vicinity and delights m 
telling of the Express riders and other 
interesting y^eople and scenes met and 
witnessed there in her girlhood days. 

The following interesting descripticn 
is from the Daily News History of Bu- 
chanan County and St. Joseph, pp. 92-3: 
All the riders were youug men, selected 
for their nerve, light weight, and gener- 
al fitness. No effort was made to uuifrom 
them, and they dressed as their individ- 
ual fancy dictated, the usual costume be- 
ing a buckskin hunting shirt, cloth trou^- 
sers tucked into a pair of high boots, and 
a jockey cap or slouch hat. AH rode 
armed. At first a Spencer rifle was car- 
ried strapped to the back, in addition to 
a part of army (Colt's) revolvers in their 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



21 



hotsters. The rifle, however, was found 
useless, and was soon abandoned. The 
equipment of the horses was a light rid- 
ing saddle and bridle, with the saddle 
bags, or "raochila," of heavy leather. 
Those had holes cut in them so that they 
would tit over the horn and tree of the 
saddle. The mochilas had four pockets 
called "cantinas," one in each corner, so 
as to have one in front and one behind 
each leg of the rider; in these the mail 
was placed. Three of these pockets were 
locked and opened enroute at military 
posts and at Salt Lake City, and under 
no circumstances at any other place. 
The fourth was for way stations, for 
which each station keeper had a key, 
and also contained a way bill, or a time 
card, on which a record of arrival and 
departure was kept. The same mochila 
was transferred from pony to pony and 
from rider to rider, until it was carried 
from one terminus to the other. The 
liitters, before being placed in the 
p.ckets, were wrapped in oiled silk to 
preserve them from the moisture. The 
maximum weight of any one mail was 
twenty pounds; but this was rarely 
reached. The charges were originally 
85.00 for each letter of one half ounce or 
less; but afterward this was reduced to 
s J. 50 for each letter not exceeding one 
o nice, this being in addition to the reg- 
ular United States postage. Especially 
made light weight paper was generally 
used to reduce the expense. Special edi- 
tions of the Eastern newspapers were 
printed on tissue paper to enable them 
to reach subscribers on the Pacific coast. 
This, however, was more of an advertise- 
ment, there being little or no demand 



for them at their necessarily large price. 
At first, stations averaged twenty-five 
miles ajart, and each rider covered sev- 
enty-five miles daily. Later, stations 
were established at intermediate points, 
reducing the distance between them, in 
some cases to ten miles, the distance be- 
tween the stations being regulated by the 
character of the country. This change 
was made in the interest of quicker time, 
it having been demonstrated that horses 
could not be kept at the top of their speed 
for so great a distance as twenty-five 
miles. At the stations, relays of horses 
were kept, and the station keeper's 
duties included having a pony ready, 
bridled and saddled, half an hour before 
the express was due. Upon approaching 
a station, the rider would loosen the 
mochila from his saddle, so that he 
could leap, from his pony as soon as he 
reached the station, throw the mo- 
di ila over the saddle of the fresh 
horse, jump on, and ride off. Two 
minutes was the maximum time allowed 
at stations, whether it was to change 
riders or horses. At relay stations where 
riders were changed, the ^ incoming man 
would unbuckle his mochila before arriv- 
ing, and hand to his successor, who 
would start off on a gallop as soon as his 
hand could grasp it. Time was seldom 
lost at stations. Station-keepers and re- 
lay-riders were always on the lookout. 
In the day time the pony could be seen 
for a considerable distance, and at night 
a few well known yells would bring ev- 
erything into readiness in a very short 
time. As a rule, the riders would do 
seventy-five miles over their route west 
bouud one day, returning over the same 



22 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



distance with the east bound express. 
The first great feat of the Pony Ex- 
press was the trial trip when on a wager 
of $200,000 the express riders covered 
the distance between St. Joseph and San 
Francisco in ten days, winning witli 
only live minutes to spare. Fur tliis 
performance were required :W0 horses 
and 125 riders. The second was the de- 
livery of the inaugural address of Pres- 
ident Lincoln, in 1801, when only 7 days 
and 17 hours were required to make the 
trip. The average of travel was 10.7 
miles an hour, but the 065 miles lyiJig 
between St. Joseph and Denver wtre 
covered in two days and 21 hours, only 
31 minutes being required for the last 
ten miles. This Avonderful perfurmance 
stands without parallel in history. 



County Histories. 

Three histories of Donijihan t'oiinty 
have been written. The iirst was ])y 
Smith & Vaughn, in 1808. It was an 
historical directory containing the names 
and places of residence of all male adults 
and heads of families in tlie county. 
Also it contains the County soldiers' reg- 
ister, a business directory, short histor- 
ical sketches, advertisements of business 
men and merchants, and information con- 
cerning the state and nation. It was 
considered a handy and useful work in 
its day, and even now is found curious 
and interesting to those who love to 
know what men were thinking of and do- 
ing in the pioneer days. Only a few 
copies are known to be in existence. 

The second effort was the "Historical 
Plat Book of Doniphan County, Kansas," 
published in 1882 by J. S. Bird of Chi- 



cago. This is a more pretentious work 
than its predecessor, giving a fair col- 
lection of historical miscellany, together 
with short biographical notes of promin- 
ent citizens, and maps and pictures of 
residences and places of business. Un- 
fortunately the book contains many er- 
rors, and the illustrations are not ex- 
cellent; but the maps are as good as any 
that had been produced up to t'lat time. 
The third venture in the historical and 
biographical iield was made by the 
founder of the Kansas Chief, a paper 
that gave blood and bone and sinew to 
the youth and manhood of Donijjhan 
county from its earliest days. The 
historical edition of the Chief, issued in 
the fall of 1893 contained 20 pages of 
matter carefully prepared and well 
printed with an abundance of tine illus- 
trations. This edition was the linest in 
workmanship and the most com})lete m 
detail of any similar work that we have 
seen. Its very worthy editor, win sc 
name is well known to every Doniphan 
county citizen, preseiited in the Vv'ork the 
experience of his life. He was a recog- 
nized autliority on matters political, his- 
torical and biographical, and while hv3 
never professed to be a preacher, he 
preached more and better sermons on 
good conduct and right living, than any 
preacher that ever occupied a pulpit in 
the West. The historical edition of his 
great paper is full of his old time lire and 
spirit. It is a real literary treasure, a 
mine of information, and those who have 
preserved it will be delighted to review 
it, and they will have something to be 
grateful for all their lives. May the sod 
ever grow green on the honored grave of 
this good and great man! 



CHAPTER III. 



PSN SKSTCHeS OF PLACSS A,H1P PSOPLS. 



TOWNS OF THE PAST. 

Cincinnati was surveyed in 1857, and 
was located somewhere in the vicinity of 
Willow Springs school house, in Iowa 
Township. No lots were ever sold or 
houses built. 

Buffalo was located at the place now 
known as Buffalo Hollow, not far from 
Eagle Springs. 

lola was located near Wolf River, ac- 
cross from Fanning, about where lola 
school house now is. 

Winona was on the county line, west 
of Highland. The legislature granted a 
cliarter for the university there to be 
called Hamby University. 

Syracuse was located in Wolf River 
township, near where a school house is 
now located, in Distrsct No. 7. 

Lafayette was in Centre township, on 
the Missouri river, and was, in 1857-58, 
a really promising and pushing town. 

Mount Vernon was below Lafayette. 
It existed on paper. 

Smithton was John W. Smith's town, 
in Burr Oak, that died a-bornin'. 



Columbia was in Burr Oak Township, 
and once had high aspirations. It is said 
to have at one time contained 200 inhab- 
itants and a number of business houses. 
The school house in what is called Col- 
umbus district is now all that remains of 
the town. 

Whitehead, later called Bellemont, 
was on the river, above Wathena. In 
1859-60 it was booming, and making 
more noise than all the other towns in 
the county. 

Petersburg was laid off on an immense 
scale, on the river, between Palermo and 
Geary City, The proprietor was Peter 
Cadue, a Frenchman, married to an In- 
dian squav/, and who acted as interpreter 
and trader to the Kickapoos. He was 
formerly located at Wathena, and Peter's 
Cre-k was named for him. His Peters- 
burg town lots afforded fat pickings for 
printers for a few years, in swelling the 
delinquent tax lists. 

P>ansville was platted by "Jib" Evans. 
No lots were ever sold. The land cor- 
nered on what is now Robert Lazelere's 
farm. Another story is: 



24 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



Evaiisville was located on the north 
half of section 25, township 3, and 
range 21. The projector of this town 
was 1). M. Johnston, who tiled his claim 
on June 1, 1857, in bohalf of tlic pro- 
l)rietors, the Evansville Town^^ite Com- 
pany. The proper Illinois Avere innde hy 
Hon. Joel P. Blair in the land ofrice in 
Doniphan. VN'itli tliis entry the town's 
oHicial record ends, and ii is extreniely 
doubtful if it I'vcr (•.unc into being, 

Rogersvillc was located on v.diat is now 
James Taylor' ;+ place, two and one-half 
miles north of Troy. ^^ lien Trv^y was 
tirst entered as a to.vnsite and the 
County seat, the county olMcers had to 
go to Rogersvillc for the mail. 

LeRoy was laid out near the Bayne 
crossing, on ^Volf river, about three 
miles from Highland Station. 

Fairview was laid out by Tdurphy T. 
Swinney (his mark) and the plat fded, 
and the streets and alleys detlioated to 
public use, May 4th, 1857'. '1 he entire 
northwest quarter of section 1!, rownsliip 
3, range 22, and all of section 10, town- 
ship 3,1'ange 22, were platted. The site 
is now cut up into small fruii. farms. 

Joseph M. Holt, C harle-; F. Holley, 
Alfred F. Barnett, Jajnes 31. '^i'eagarden, 
John S. Tisdale, and Napoleon D. Gid- 
dings platted the town of LaPorte on tlie 
east half of section 28, t(jv»nship 2, range 
22, and iiled it for record September 10, 
1857. 

James R. Whitehead, pi-esident, and 
Joseph Penny, secretary of tlie White- 
head Town company, platted the town 
of Bellemont and tiled for reconl a map 
of the town, designated as "Keys' map 



of the town of Bellemont" on June 20, 
1858. The land is described as tht- 
west fractional half of section 15, and 
the nortliwest quarter of section 'J'J. aiid 
the northeast quarter of sic! ion •_'!, in 
township 2, range 2 2. 

Landondale, or ^loinit W'liion w;!>i 
laid out on wliat is now tlie llargis fujin 
near the mouth of ^Mosqnito Civek. T\.v 
land is described as the nortlienst quart ;r 
of section 30, and the fractional south- 
east quarter of IV, in townshiji 2, r;int:c 
21. 

On October 10, 1882, there v,as i hd 
for record a plat of Eagk> SpriJigs on thi- 
southwest quarter and the northeast 
quarter of section l(i. townshi}) 2 ran^-o 
20. 

Troy Junction is all that is k'ft of t:.>' 
tt)wn of Maynard. 

James J. Reynolds, Arthur K. Fro/g(! 
Stephen G. Fish, James II. Fi^'i au'l 
Nelson Casteel platted tiie town k-( Ari- 
zona, and tiled the plat Marcli 1, 1850. 
It Aras in section 30, townsliip i' b>it th.i 
range is missing. 

The town of PiLtsl-urg was ]>latt(.d o.i 
section 3, township 4, range 20. no\s the 
John Albers and John Vt ynkoop land. 
The plat was pretentious, but the tov, n 
came to naught. The projectors \\e)e 
A. G. Fge, B. S. Warton, J. H. Jones, 
E. A. Seavy, I. INIcCoy, Ik W. Uiuin;.!,. 
Wm. K. Richardson and Jar.us F. 1 ( :- 
num. 

Charleston was in Centre townsh.ip. on 

the river, near the Burr Oak line. Jud;;c 

Byrd built a storehouse there in 1857. 

Jeil Jenkins had a law otiicc, L. ! >. 

I Stocking a jeweller's slio}), and the to^\n 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY IIISTOKY. 



2? 



made ;i lively j>ush for a short time. 
Tliei) it (liKappeariMl from the map. 
About two years ago (iibHon and Clary 
cstahliKlu'fl a store on the old site and 
|>ctitioii('<l i<»r a postottiee. They wished 
to have tlie office (jailed Cliarleston, 
Itut found that the name had been ap- 
propriated by a village in the short grass 
i-ountry and tJie office was named Bozarth. 
Syracuse was in Wolf River township 
jiear where I he sclicx*] ii<>us(,' of that name 
i-< now located. Walter S. Peck, Abijah 
I). Reeves, K. J. Doyle and VVm. Vick- 
cry 'il(;d the plat of the town on the 26th 
of March iHo-i. 'J'tie land platted was 
lie north half of section 1, township 4, 
ranue IJ). 



A (iolden Opportunity. 

A correspondent for the J-*hiLadelphia 
Ledger, who dated his letter, "St. 
Joseph. I'pper Missouri, Sept. 11, 1854," 
gave the ftdlc>wlng information concern- 
ing the (laughter of a wealthy chief of 
tie lowas, who was in the market for a 
white husband: 

"'i"'lie county just over the river from 
St. .!os(^{»h has been the home of several 
irilns. funong them the Sacs, the lowas, 
the Kiekaj oos, etc. These are now in 
the art of removal to new homes to make 
room for the whites. 

••'I'!ie Sac Agency and Mission, some 
twenty- live miles w(3St of this place, will 
be ileserted, and when the territory shall 
Jiave b(!en surveyed, will be offered with 
tite rest of the public land, for sale to the 
higlu'st bidder. It is a magnificent farm 
of (540 a<;res, 2(H) of which are under 
f<'nce and in a high state of cultivation. 
This farjn has been worked for that 



tribe by government hands, and every- 
thing raised on it has enured to the ben- 
efit of the Indians alone. At the time 
I passed the place, the Indians were on 
the eve of celebrating a feast, and were 
scouring the country around for dogs, 
which they esteem a great delicacy. 
They freely offered a pony for a dog, 
and had collected some seven or eight, 
whi<;h they were stuffing and cramming 
witli food to make them fat. On no 
other occasion will they allow a dog to 
be molested or killed. In fa(;t they re- 
gard the canine species with a sort of su- 
perstitious veneration, and believe that 
if they sacrilice good fat ones, they will 
be j>ardoned for all bad actions they have 
c(;mmitted since the last dog feast, and 
have a good jiunting ground and plenty 
of game uiitil they again celebrate it. 

T ? ^ 

"They are a most interesting people. 
Their chief is very old and very wealthy. 
To any respectable white man who will 
settle among them, and marry one of his 
daughters, he offers *;l(J,OOU in money, 
500 horses and four sections of land. He 
wishes his people to become instructed 
in agriculture, and lieiice his offer. I 
saw the daughter and remained all night 
wilh the family. She is aware of the 
offer her father has made of her, and 
does not seem to take the matter very 
hard. In fact she told me that if "she got 
a man and he would use her well, she 
was ready," 

"She is the oldest of the family of 
children, say 30 years. Although al- 
most white the Indian shows itself all 
over her. She has high cheek bones; in 
other respects she is not bad looking. I 



27 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



will also add that although she walks 
with her toes turned in, like all Indians, 
yet she has the most delicate little foot 
and most exquisitely turned ankle I ever 
saw. 

*'In fact, gentlemen, as I expect to be 
near neighbors to these people, I do not 
see that I can do better than to take the 
old man's offer. If I do I intend to rep- 
resent Kansas in Congress, after it shall 
have a territorial government and you 
need not be surprise',! if I bring my half- 
breed wife to see you at your office. 

Would not t!ie old Quakers in Phila- 
delphia, when they saw the descendants 
of one of the pillars of their church mar- 
ried to a half-breed, exclaim, 'Oh! what 
a fall my countrymen':" 

But I must close, and as I see my let- 
ters to you are being republished by the 
country papers in Pennsylvania, I will 
only add furtlier, that now is the time to 
emigrate to Kansas, and that all who 
want to obtain homes here should come 
now. I am, gentlemen, yours faithfully, 

E. F. R. 



Pure Fiction. 

Two of the oldest settlers in the 
County having rea<] tlie following story, 
united in ])ronounciug it a product of the 
imagination. The story concerns Don- 
iphan County. It was tirst published in 
1855. 

An AwFiL IxDiAN Tragedy.— A Kan- 
sas correspondent of the St. Louis Demo- 
crat in commenting upon the protracted 
strife between the Iowa and Pawnee 
Indians, recounts the following horrible 
incidents: 

"Six years ago, in the fall of 1849, 



three white persons, two gentlemen and 
one lady, who had been residing near old 
Fort Kearney, and had there attached to 
them a beautiful Pawnee girl, of about 
sixteen summers, set out for their honu^ 
in Kentucky, taking the young Pawnee 
maiden with them. They bad nearly 
reached St. Joseph when they met a band 
of lowas. The lowas asked for t!ie 
Pawnee girl. She was refused thejj). 
She was on a horse behind one of tlie 
gentlemen. Several warriors apj)roached 
and seized her long tresses, and threw 
her backwards to the earth. She 
sci'eamed for help. A youjig brave, Arho 
seemed to have authority, approached. 
She threw herself upon her knees before 
him, and implored mercy. He deliber- 
ately levelled his rifle and shot her 
through the heart. He then severed her 
head from her body and stuck it upon tlie 
top of a pole, and had a war dance 
around it. They then quartered her body 
and each warrior of the band bearing a 
part of it, marched after their chief, who 
bore her head aloft upon the pole, to the 
nearest village, where they held a great, 
feast. 

"In the meanwhile the whites liastened 
to this place and gave information oi 
these diabolical proceedings to Col. A. J. 
Vaughan, who was then Indian Agent 
here. He immediately mounted his horse 
and rode to Ft. Leavenworth, got a de- 
tachment of dragoons, hastened back, and 
gave them a surprise. He arrested those 
who were concerned in her capture and 
death, and had them imprisoned at Ft. 
Leavenworth, where they renuiined only 
several months, and were released with- 
out prosecution of any kind. The head 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



27 



and limbs of the hapless girl were put to- 
gether in a coffin and decently interred. 

"When the news reached the Pawnees 
they made an incursion into the country 
of the lowas and stole many of their 
horses.. 

"White Cloud, then the head chief of 
the lowas, took a band of warriors down 
among the Pawnees, and destroyed one 
of their villages, killing even the women 
and children. In this encounter his 
right eye was pierced and destroyed by an 
arrow, aimed by a boy but ten years old. 
In the next instant his unerring toma- 
hawk was buried in the cleft skull of the 
brave child, and the battle ended. All, 
old and young, male and female, were in- 
discriminately butchered. 

"Col. Vaughn made a report of it to 
the government and was instructed forth- 
with to depose White Cloud, and have 
another chief elected in his place. 

"An old man named No Heart was 
unanimously chosen. It is a strange 
name for one of his character, for he is 
an excellent man, and still enjoys the 
contidence of the people and the respect 
of the whites. He at once entered into a 
treaty of peace with the Pawnees and 
since that time they have lived in friend- 
ship. 

"White C'loud retired from the society 
of mon. He sat alon:; in silent gloom. 
An impenetrable cloud seemed to rest 
upon his spirit. It was not grief for his 
barbarous butcherings; but it was 
wounded pride that broke his heart. He 
died in a short time and his body was 
placed upon the summit of a high hill, 
that overlooks, for a great distance, the 
Missouri river. A white post was 



planted at the head of his grave filled 
with horses and scalps, drawn rudely, in 
red paint, and which contained his epi- 
taph, showing his glories in the number 
of persons he has slain and of horses he 
has stolen." 

"This was the same White Cloud 
whom Bayard Taylor mentioned as having 
crossed the ocean in the steamship with 
himself when he iirst essayed a tour of 
these Oiiental climes, and is the same 
whom Col. Melody of St. Louis, intro- 
duced at the leading courts of Europe 
with eolat." 

Sol Miller reprinted this stoiy in the 
\Vhite Cloud Chief, Nov. 12, 1857, with 
comment, pronouncing it "the most satis- 
factory and perha})S the truest account 
of the chief that we have yet obtained." 



Aborii^inal Inhabitants. 

In looking at the history of the Indian 
tribes that inhabited Doniphan County 
previous to its organization as such, in 
1854, it has been a difficult matter to get 
at some important items connected with 
t!ieir early history. No two authorities 
agree on the number of Indians in any of 
these tribes, which were the lowas, Kan- 
sas, Sacs and Foxes, and Kickapoos, and 
some of t'lem differ widely. From the 
best information obtainable, the lowas 
numbereil about 800 when they came 
here from the Platte Purchase in 1837. 
'i'heir head chief at that time was old 
White Cloud. The present number of 
their reservation along the state line be- 
tween Kansas and Nebraska is about 100, 
and Jim White Cloud, probably a de- 
scendant of old White Cloud, is chief. 
The Sacs and Foxes numbered about 400 



28 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



when they came here with the lowas in 
1837. Their principal chief was Ne- 
sourqoit. There are perhaps little over a 
dozen of them on the reservation on the 
Big Nehania river now, ami these have 
no chief so far as I know. It must be 
remembered that these Indians were 
only a small band of that once warlike 
tribe, which broke away from old Black 
Hawk, when that wily old warrior in- 
duced the Wiuneba<jfos under Keokuk, to 
join in the war against tlie government 
in Illinois in 1882. 

The following ex! met fr()m"RLdpath's 
History of the United 8tates"'explains the 
cause of tliis Iiuliau outbreak: 

"In the Spring of 1832 the Sacs and 
Foxes and Winnebago Indians of 
Wisconsin territory began war. They 
were incited and led by the famous chief, 
Black Hawk, who, like many great 
sachems before him, believed in tiie pos- 
sibility of an Indian confederacy suffic- 
iently powerful to beat blacks and whites. 
The land of the Sacs and Foxes, lying in 
the Rock River country of Illinois, had 
been purchased by the government twenty 
live years previously. The Indians, how- 
ever, remained in the ceded territory, 
since there was no occasion for immed- 
iate occupation by the whites. \^ hen at 
last, after a quarter of a century, the 
Indians were required to give possession 
they cavilled at the old treaty and re- 
fused to comply. The government in- 
sisted that the Red men should fulfil their 
contract, and hostilities began on the 
frontier. The governor of Illinois called 
out the militia and Gen. Scott was sent 
with nine companies of artillery to Chi- 
cago. At that place his force was over- 



taken with the cholera, and he was pre- 
vented from co-operating with the troops 
of General Atkinson. The latter, how- 
ever, waged a vigorous campaign against 
the Indians, defeated them in several 
actions, and made Black Hawk a prisoner. 
This of course brought the war to a close 
but the outbreak had caused a permanent 
split in the tribe, and the band headed 
by Nesourqoit, which opposed Black 
Hawk in the war, were finally located in 
northwest Missouri, and they were desig- 
nated after this by the department of 
Indian affairs at Washington as the"Sacs 
and Foxes of Missouri." The band 
that followed Black Hawk was called 
the"Sacs and Foxes of the Mississippi." 
They were much more numei'ous than the 
Sacs and Foxes of Missouri. W^hen they 
came to Kansas they were located south 
of the Shawnees below the Kansas river." 

The Kickapoos came to Kansas about 
the time the lowas and Sacs and Foxes 
did in 18i;7. They were also from north 
west Missouri, the territory of the three 
tribes extending from the southern limit 
of the Platte Purchase, along the Mis- 
souri river to the northern boundary of 
the state. They probably numbered 
about one thousand when they came to 
Kansas. Authorities diffei*. widely on 
this as they do on other tribes mentioned. 
Their principal chiefs were Kennekuk, 
Wathena and Hamilton. They now 
number six or seven hundred on their 
reservation south of Horton in Brown 
county, and their head chief is Little 
Simon. 

The Kickapoos owned the southern 
half of Doniphan County and on south 
to the northern boundary of the Dela- 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



29 



wares at Ft. Leavenworth, the loAvas and 
Sacs and Foxes the northern half. The 
Sac and Fox lands lay between the lowas 
and KickapooR. The line between them 
and the Kickapoos commenced on the Mis- 
souri river, where Whitehead, a trading 
post, was established in 1852, thence due 
west, between where Horton and Hia- 
watha in Brown county now are, to a 
line running north and south, sixty miles 
north of Fort Leavenworth. The line 
between the lowas and the Sacs and Foxes 
commenced at the mouth of the Wolf 
river and followed it up to the great 
Bend at a rock mound, erected for that 
purpose; it bore off southwest, between 
the old Presbyterian Mission and the 
great Nemeha Agency, then due west to 
the west line of Doniphan County, then 
northwest to the line above referred to, 
sixty miles west of Fort Leavenworth. 
This line was of course the southern 
boundary of the Iowa lands, which ex- 
tended north to the great Nemeha river 
and as far west as the Saos and Foxos and 
Kickapoos. These lands were ceded to 
the general government in 1854, and the 
Sacs and Foxes traded a strip of territory 
along the northern boundary to the 
lowas, for the reservation to which they 
were removed, west of the lowas, along 
the big Nemeha to the south fork, near 
Salem in Richardson County, Nebraska. 
Since then they sold a. strip of the west 
end of this territory, so their present 
reservation is quite small, but as there is 
but few of them it is large enough for 
their needs. In this treaty the lowas 
reserved about 95,000 acres of their 
lands in Doniphan County^ to be sold at 
public sale to the highest bidder. It 



was stipulated in the treaty, that these 
lands were not to be occupied by white 
settlers, until after they were surveyed 
and sold, but so eager were the people to 
secure homes, that they commenced set- 
tling them up before they Wefe surveyed, 
'J^he government ordered the agent at 
Great Nemeha Agency, Major Vander- 
slice, to expel these intrudersv This he- 
attempted to do by proclamation. Fail- 
ing of this, he visited them in person,, 
and warned them if they did not leave 
on their own accord, he would expel- 
them by force by United States troops 
from Leavenworth. This sent most of 
them away but a few remained and were 
not molested. Encouraged by this„ 
those who had gone away in the belief 
that if they did not do so they would be 
driven out by United States trooj s, re- 
turned, aud in j^ short timf th^sQ laii^s 
were all occupied by white s^ttle^'-s, iix 
violation of the treaty, by which the. 
Indian title to them was to be extin-. 
guished when the government fulfilled itS;. 
treaty obligations to the Indians, lui 
the meantime the government foresee-- 
ing that if it drove the settler^ away^ 
speculators were liable to ^ombise and; 
bid the lands in for a mere trifle, com-^. 
missiouers were appointed who ap- 
praised each quarter-section at so much 
per acre and the settlers were allowed to 
bid it in at the sale which took place at 
Iowa Point in Jnne, J 85 7, at thp ap= 
praised value whioh rarely exceeded two 
dollars per acre and a great deal of it 
much less than that. Some of these 
lands are now selling at prices which 
would make a trust magnate look upon 
their possessions with envious eyes. 



30 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISiOUY. 



This has no doubt led the Indian to a 
better understanding of his pale faced 
brothers' deep solicitude for his spiritual 
welfare, who, while breaking to him the 
bread of life, has taken occasion to re- 
lieve him of everything temporal which 
would have a tendency to make him 
worldly minded and thus retard his 
spiritual growth. 

All the foregoing tribes I have do- 
scribed belong to what were known as 
emigrant Indians, that is, Indians the 
government had been removing westward 
for a number of years to make room for 
white settlers from the territory out of 
which they had been previously removed 
for the same purpose. Tae g)v^ern:u3ii t 
in removing tliese emigrant Indians onto 
the public domain designed the territorial 
limits of each tribe separately for a two- 
fold jjurpose. First, if they wandei-ed 
out beyond these, and went on the war 
path either for the purpose of })lunder, 
which was most frequent, or to avenge 
some real or imaginary insult, they could 
be driven back on their old reservation, 
and secontlly, when it came to removing 
them there could be no dispute about 
their territorial limits. 

These tribes all had access in common 
with other tribes to the hunting gi'ounds 
beyond their ])oundaries, which included 
the public domain extending westward 
to the Rocky Mountains. 

A story is told by T. J. McCreary of 
Highland, who came among the Iowa 
Indians early in 184U, in connection 
with one of their hunting expeditions, 
which illustrates the Indians' supersti- 
tious nature. An Iowa Indian had been 
sick for a lonar time with some linorerins' 



disease that the Medicine men could not. 
cure. Though they had done their be>;t 
to frighten the evil s])irit out of him, 
beating their tom-toms with totem sticks, 
it refused to budge. Finally the Great 
Spirit took the matter in hand and told 
the sick Indian if he could kill a Pawnee, 
with which the lowas were at war, he 
would be restored to health. Charmed 
with an offer of a remedy so much to his 
liking, he joined a party of his tribe on 
a hunting expedition back in the Buffalo 
range on tlie Blue river, where they fell 
in with a war party of Pawnees and 
returned home a well man. 

The following letter found among the 
private papers of the late Major Daniel 
Vanderslice shows some of the Indians' 
peculiar notions about disposing of their 
dead: 

Sac axd Fox Agency, K. T., 
March 18, ISSy. 
Maj. Yanderslice, 

U. S. Indian Agt., 

Sir: Tliere is an Indian 
by the name of Oua-uua-ne-pe-qua desires 
to convey to Ouak-a-he-ho-sea tlie news 
that his son Nah-to-wan-ich-cha-ki is 
dead and that he has charge of two of his 
horses, and has also made arrangements 
for sending away his spirit, or as more 
usually expressed, for throwing them 
away, but would prefer to hear from his 
father and desires that he would send his 
grown son, that he may fully please the 
father in performing these rights to hi-s 
son, Isaac G. Baker, 

For Qua-qua-ne-pe-qiii. 
The Indian horses were so poor that 
he Avas prevented from going himself. 



GRAY'S DOI^IPHAN COUNTY HISTORY, 



31 



The following itemized account shows 
the cost of running the Great Nemeha 
Agency for six months, in 1860: 
Sacs and Foxes of Missouri, An- 
nuity $5000.00 
Blacksmith and assistants 360.00 
Iron, steel, etc,, 140.00 
Bldg,, Agr'l purposes, and pay 

farmer 670.00 

Provisions 140.00 

Kec'g stolen horses and other 

Indian property 100.00 

Total 6410.00 

Iowa Indians, Annuity 0000.00 

Blacksmith and assistants 360.00 

Iron, steel, etc., 140.00 

Bldg.. and rep'rs on Chief's 

house, etc., 955.00 

Agrl and other jurposts 450.00 

Teachers' pay, one quarter at 

%500 per annum 125.00 

Books, stationery, etc., 75.00 

Provisions, $165.00. Ree. stolen 

horses, etc., $100 265.00 

Total «370.00 

In addition to the above, there was 
agents' salary and two interpreters, 
$1150.00. 

It must be understood that this money 
was derived from the sale of lands be- 
longing to these Indians which the gov- 
ernment held in trust for their use and 
bene lit. 

The following letter is the answer to 
an in(piiry I addressed to an old Indian 
trader among the Kickapoos in 1841. 
While the writer is mistaken in the time 
the tribes he mentions came to Kansas, 
as it is known they came in 18o7, and 
overestimates their numbers, his letter 
is nevertheless interesting. 



White Cloud, Kansas. 
Dec. 27, 1904, 

My Dear Friend : In answer to your 
request I will say the Kickapoos, lowas. 
Sacs and Foxes of Missouri were located 
here about the year 1832 and came from 
the countrv in Missouri comprising the 
counties of Atchison, Holt, Nodaway, 
Andrews, Buchanan, Platte and Clinton. 

Wathena was one of the leading Chiefs 
and Hamilton a second chief of the 
Kickapoos. They perhaps numbered fif- 
teen or eighteen hundred, when they 
lirst came to* Kansas. I can't tell their 
present number. Peter Cadue and Pas- 
chall Pensinean, Frenchmen, married in- 
to this tribe about the time they first 
came to Kansas. Much could be writ- 
ten of them that would make interesting 
reading, but I will not undertake the job 
now. The lowas came about the time 
the Kickapoos did. Their principal 
chief was Mo-hos-ka, or White Cloud, 
who was buried just below where the 
town of Iowa Point now is. Wolf, he of 
Wolfs Grove, was second chief, and was 
deposed by General \'r. P. Richardson for 
insubordination. Nan-cha-nin-ga, or No 
Heart, was head chief after White Cloud 
died. They numbered from 2000 to 
2500 when they entered the territory. 
Their number now is greatly reduced 
and I cannot estimate it, as the 
tribe divided. Part went to Oklahoma 
and part stayed on the reservation and 
perhaps now number 225 souls. The 
Sacs and Foxes of Missouri came about 
the same time the lowas did, and num- 
bered from twelve to fifteen hundred, 
Nesourqoit and Peterokemis were head 
chiefs and Moless and Nokawet second 



32 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



chiefs. I'liey now number less tlian 200 
souls. 

With tlie compliments of the season 
and best wishes for your welfare, I am 
very truly your friend, Jo Utt. 

White C'lomrs burial place that Mr. 
Utt refers to was a lart>c' black-oak tree 
overlookino- the Missouri river as far as 
the eye can reach and south to the head 
of Burr-Oak Bottom. It was on the 
roadside, where .Job Dutton settled, near 
Iowa Point. A pole six or ei^^ht feet 
high, with some strips of ivd cloth fast- 
ened at the top hiurkcd the old chiefs 
resting place when the courttry was first 
settled. All traces of this grave have 
long since disappeared. 

White Cloud previous to his death lived 
south of this in a large double hewed log- 
house witli brick and stone chiuiney. 
This house stood on land now owned by 
Frank Potter, near wiu're his residence 
now is. There were a number of these 
hewed log-houses in that vicinity but the 
Indians burned tliem all before t'ley re- 
moved to their ])resent reservation along 
the big Nemeha river to prevent tliem 
from falling into tlie hands of their pak' 
face brothers. The liouses were built by 
white men under the directions of tlu 
Indian agent. The Indians left atypical 
one of their wigwams, standing on the 
land which afterwards belonged to the 
late Jacob T. Pierce, which illustrated 
in its workmanship the Indians' architec- 
tural skill in all its primitive sinii)licity. 
This wigwam was sided up with bark, 
fastened to poles six or seven feet high 
set in the ground in a circle and was 
covered with the same material fastened 
to poles with the proper pitch converging 



in the centre. The bark was lapped like 
the clapboards on a frontier cabin. 
This vicinity was the home of the Iowa 
Indians before they went north, and they 
had a large graveyard near the wigwam 
just described which has long since been 
obliterated by the plow of the pale face, 
who has long been trying to engraft civ- 
ilized ideas and customs on the abor- 
iginal mind. 

The Sacs and Foxes lived south of the 
] lowas on the Wolf river near a large 
spring, on land now belonging to J. B. 
Dutton. The mortality among them 
here was very great, as they had a large 
graveyard which has shared the same fate 
as that of their neighbors' on the north. 

Rev. S. M. Irvin and his devoted wife 
who came to Kraisas with the lowas and 
Sacs and Foxes as missionaries, and 
founded tlie old Presbyterian Mission 
about 1843, east of where the town of 
Highland now is, spent all the best years 
of their lives among the Indians in a 
noble but futile effort to plant the seeds 
of Christian civilization in a soil not 
ada})ted to its successful i)ropagation. 
Some of the Indians were given splendid 
educations, but none of them ever put it 
into profitable use. \\ hile the few of 
them that remain have adoj)ted the dress 
of the i)ale faces, they still cling to the 
custom of their ancestors. 

They take readily with most of the 
vices and a few of the elevating influ- 
ences of civilization. The white man's 
lire water and his idle habits are more at- 
tractive to them than his comfortable 
dwellings and his well tilled granaries. 
Pryor Plank. 

Highland Station, Kansas, 1905. 



CHAPTER IV. 



pen SKeTCHGS, stc. 

(Continued.) 



THE COLUMBUS SEMINARY. 

Only the oldest residents of Doniphan 
county will be able to recall the strenuous 
effort made in 1856-7 toward establishing 
a Boarding School in Burr Oak. The 
Presbyterians at Highland having turned 
their Mission into a f-chool of higher ed- 
ucation, the Methodists, not to be out- 
done, determined to found a college of 
their own. 

The chief promoter of the ambitious 
project was a clergyman who had re- 
cently come to the territ>?ry from anotlier 
state, and who, having eaiivassed the en- 
tire East and West, finally concluded to 
go over to Boston, a tov.'n on the east 
bank of the Missouri, sevt^a miles from 
Columbus. 

The place being generally regarded as 
a harbor for abolitionists of the blackest 
dye, the preacher was oiiccuragtd to be- 
lieve that the people if given an oppor- 
tunity would subscrilje liberally toward 
the support of any institution where the 
doctrine of Free Soil was made special 
feature of the curriculum, and accord- 
ingly, he wrote to a friend living there, 



for permission to hold a mid-week ser- 
vice at his house, 

A large proportion of the. inhabitants 
of Boston led a hand-to-mouth existence 
and could not ))ay one penny toward a 
home enterprise, if the fate of the town 
had depended on it, while there was 
another and equally unfortunate class 
that uiiblusliingly took pen in hand and 
made their characteristic mark whenever 
required to sign a document of any kind. 
However, tlie j)reachcr apjx'ared at the 
appointed time. Pro-slavery young men 
from neighboring fiini.s ha<l already dis- 
played a keen interest in the welfare of 
Bleeding Kansas ]»y having crossed the 
Missouri and voted at the first balloting 
precinct they came to, while two or three 
of" tliem had won distinction among their 
friends l)y liaving taken part in tive Black 
Jack tiglit. 

"^I'liese young men, or lu^arly all of them, 
were present at the meeting, while the 
preacher, wlio might have rivalled the 
illustrious Bishoj) j\[c('abe in his persua- 
sive ability, gave a stirring discourse, 
iiis]»irc»l, no doubt, by the thought of a 



•M 



(j:t/VY\S DONIiMIAN (:.)ll >rv IllSi^OliV. 



iiict' I'at collcdt-ion. I4iit. alas! as l,lu^ !ial. 
WHS about to 1)0 paMH<*(l, llui M iHsomiaiis, 
w li<», l>y lli«' way, mainly coinju-iscd the 
audience, lindin;^ (liat they \V('ri> not 
needed, (|iiiet.ly arose and liled out, leav- 
iu!j^ (lie |> )or l*'ree-S »iler and his I'auiilv 
alone lo swidl llu^ Doniphan County Md- 
ucational fund from their seanl y savings. 

Tliomas Jeffiirsoii Soutlioi'Lun!. 

'Phis sket(^h was prepai't'd l)\ M issioiiarv 
S. M. Irvin, of Highland, Kansas, in 
1882, for Andreas' History id' Kansas, 
l^'or some reason it did not appear in 
that work, hut as it is oi" iiitt'rest (o Don- 
ipiian ("ouuty people, we an- Ltia I t o oil'i-i- 
it to our readi'rs. ( oiiiiii'4' from .Mr. 
Irvin's pen, it niay he r(di"d upon as ver- 
itabU^ iiislory. It is said that t!ie bones 
ol' this eecen trie man lie iMiried on the 
.site ol' the ()ld Missio,. gtavi'vaid, uuilei 
a barn on the larni. 

"Karly in the siun lur of I s.)j, .-it tlie 
Iowa and Sac Missi():s, tliore walked in- 
to one of the halls of Jie Mi-!siou hiMi>e, 
a t;ill, stout and b id loDkiuo- i:i;'.ii. 
ron<j^hIy dressed, a.ui earrying- on his 
back, wrapped in a blanket, a nice lillle 
<i;irl, seven oi- ei^' it years old. vMn 
i\anie,' said he, 'is Tiioinas .lelVerson 
Southerland. I nin known as (icneral 
Southerland, and c.inneett'l somew h;it 
with the burniuL;- oi' rlu> Caroline, on the 
C^anadian border, in lS:iT. I was a pris- 
oner, under tin' l>ri;ish authorities for 
more than thne mouths; they inteided 
to han<i- me, and oreeted a fallow.-; in 
sight of my prison wiiulow. Ibit upon 
my trial by court martial I was allowed 
to defend my own case, and they de- 



tei^tcd in me a military man, and i'oi' llii< 
or some other reason they let nu' ;;o.' 

"Phis was, in fact-, all we ever kiu'w. 
true or false, of who the m.an v.us. ! i 
ri^i^ard to the little ir\r\ he carried wit'i 
him: 'This,' said he, 'is not my child. 
She is adopted. N<»r do I know who sh;- 
is. I am a phrenologist, and in eluderi 
tinu's was travellinn' on tlie Mississippi in 
a sti'amlioat,and happened t^) see a wido.v 
travellinn' with three little <^irls. My 
skill in phrenology ("ii.ibled nu' to se.- 
that tlu' mother hail but. litlle love ;ui 1 
alfection for her cdiildren, and that liiis 
o.ie was a. vi'i-y intellect u;il (diild, an 1 
Would make a oood ti'at'her. I asked 
her if she would i^ive this littU' j^irl t > 
nu'. She at once s.iid: '\\'s, yen m.iv 
have her.' I took and a<loptt'd her :\\\ 1 
her n.ime is \'iola Southerland.' 

" l^he object of his nussion wa.-'. h.- 
said, to make arran^xMiuuits t;) leave I'l.' 
liitU' uirl a few days at thi> IMission, nnld 
he, with two oilier nu-u, who were in 
company with him, and who were i:i 
camp near, would explore this portion of 
the Indian 'rcrntory. lie went on tn 
aro,ne that the uovernment had no ri^h! 
to kiH'p those hiiuls, west of t!u' liulian 
Keservation, exclusiveh- for the Indian.-; 
that luililaiy restrictions should be r- 
nu)ycd; t!\at tlicy were settlinu t'u" 
Paeilic coast with impunity, .and tli;it he 
was goino- to test, it here, or out sonn- 
distance from tlu' IMissonri river, if the 
eounl rv ple;*st-d him. etc. 

"lie lei"! tlu' L^irl. .and after an absence 
of about tliiee weeks, returned. j4:rea'ly 
delighted wi h his trip, .and eon!ide:it 
that west «d" the Iowa and Kickapoo re 
serves, there was one of the nu>st be.auli- 



(JUAV'S DONIIMIAN COUNTV llIsroKV 



36 



I'll! and most, prodiu'tivi' (Hniiitr'u's. His 
risolul i(»ii \\;is i'oniu*! tt) or^ani/r a td- 
t»iiV of youn«; int'ii, ami to l'<> at oiun' 
and jtosscss some part of this irivitinjf 
ilt'ld. lie still waiitnl to leave liis littK' 
i>iri at the Mission until lie eoiild return 
wilh Ills eolon\ . 'This was agreed loand 
tin' (Jeneral lelt lor Missouri. 

"In about llirte Uioiitiis two, eovi red 
wagons \s eri' diivt'ii u|i to the Mission. 
We wei'e soon inloinied tiiat it was (J«,ii- 
t'ral Suutlierlaud's outlit, destined ("or a 
ni'w settlenii'nt, west el the Indian r«'- 
serves, Imt that the (ieneral himself was 
in one of the wayoiis, very siek. lie was 
brought into tlie Mission, and \\ as well 
eared tor. but his mind was <i,-one, and he 
7iever rallied. A few da\sof uneonscious 
exisienee endeil his career. lie was evi- 
di'ntly a man of inlelU-el and will, and 
mav havi' had «'onsiderable sidudarlv ;it- 
tainments. In his trunk was fouml a 
lavi^e cjuani ity <d' manust-ript, made up (d" 
bioyrajdiy, history anil poetry. Most, of 
it was seen»ini»ly prepared for the j i\ss; 
lut. nothinu^ was found to throw any 
lig'iton his ancestry or personal hist.oVy. 
Tlu' young men with him wore led to be- 
lieve that his place of e()rr<>K()ondence «m- 
his homt' was somewhere in easTern ( )hio. 
They said he wroli' for some pa[)er, 
called the N<)n[)areil, in that region. 
With himself (nded all his pl.'ns lor c<d- 
onizing the V\ est. The young m«'n re- 
turned to Missouri. The lit.lle girl grow 
up to womanliood, was married, an*! as 
far as is known, has a good re«'ord. This 
is all that, was known at the Mission of 
(leiif ral S< nit her land. 

"This little pit ee of Kansas history 
has never before been written, and if 



publish(>(l might reach the eyes of some 
one who would be interested. It was 
tlx' privili'ge of the writer to hv in (diarge 
of tlu' Iowa and Sac Mission where this 
o<eurre(l, and he can voiu h for the cor- 
rt <-l iiess {>{' it." 



,\ rei'ihuis Hid<'. 

A circumstance connected with the ad- 
n.issioii of Kansas, in which the writer 
fgti(-d, hd't an impressi(>n on his mind, 
that like all o! her wild advent.ures, will 
ntver be olditiiated, until the power 
that turuishes life's idecl rieity "stops 
short, never 1 (> go .igaiu.'' Itwas I'J o'- 
(doek at night in the composing room of 
the S'„. Joseph Daily (Ja/i'tte; Charlie 
Tl (rinpson, the foreman, had his fornis 
about (d(,se(l, and thebovs were lounging 
aroai (1 wearilv, waiting for ";'.o.'" In 
thai composing ro( Ml was a young printer 
who h;id prexiouslv b«'en migrating with 
tilt seasons, g(;ing West when the "pe- 
WH ( k"" con nienced to sing, and seeking 
tlu- genial ;<tmosphere of some Missouri 
pr iil.shop upon I he appearance of white 
frost. 'I h(.mas ^\ hite, a large farmer 
and stoc!(. raiser near ('oiincil drove, 
Kansas, had b( en lo(d<ing Ww the admis- 
Ki<in, and wrote to his t \ pographieal 
frit III!, th.it when it occurred, to get the 
news lo him ;it the I'arliest possibles ino- 
n < it., i«L;ai(lless id' expense. At. the 
tin.<>, the printer owned a tleet-f«K>ted 
pony, which was then being groomed 
and foddered in Kate Uurgess' livery 
stabli^ At li':".i» came "ltd, " and it. bore 
tlu' luiws of the adinissi(»!i of Kansas. 
The typo, with migrating proidivities, 
immediatidy tendered his resignation and 
or»lei«'d his pony; but what was he to do? 



36 



ORAV'S DO^'IPHAN COUNTY HISTOKV 



,liile Rob'uloiix, tlu' I'lerk, liatl gone 
honu', aiul tln'ro was a balamu' of a few 
dollars duo him. However, Osear Leon- 
ard, one of the model eomposittirs of 
those days, riiially eame to his relief and 
advanced a twenty dollar hill, au I took 
an order on tlu' "iderk" fc^r tlie same. 

Just at '2 o'eloek, after l)iddinix the 
boys "good-bye," the young man, with 
two or three (Ta/.ettes on (Mie sile of his 
saddle poekets, balaueed with a "wet 
luneh" on the other side, mounted liis 
tirev little steed aud skipped aeross the 
Missiniri rivi'r on the ice, just helow the 
"Ixobidonx brick." About sunrise that 
morning he took breakfast at a cvbin on 
Independence creek an! re-ited his p >ny 
an hour. At :i o'clock lu' dinel in To- 
{»eka, exchanged ponies with ".lo dim," 
the Kaw Indian interpreter, took supper 
at Mission creek, and at 12 o'clock that 
night Mr. Wliite real tli.> G.i/eUe before 
a blazing lirv', w'uile the hungry tyj)j de- 
V()ured a red-hot lunc'i, and i-.ongratulated 
himself t!>at he was the tirst one to travel 
any distance in the new state. Distance, 
1-iO miles : time, 2'J hours. — S. Joseph 
Gazette, Jan. i.'4, 18U7. Kiowa ,)i.m. 



The Drouth of ISGO. 

The Historical Edition of the Atchison 
Globe, published in July lf>tU, wiiich 
was oiu> of the most, readable historical 
editions ever issued in the West, and 
which contained much interesting history 
of our own County, gave the following 
sketch of the great droutli of ISiJO. 

"The great drouth occurred in IStVO. 
The spring of tlnit year was \ erv }>rom- 
iaing until the latter })art of June, when 



the hot winds began blowing about no;>n. 
They ceased at nightfall, but resumed 
operations the next day. One old settler 
says that th ; hot winds came up iiHt uitlv 
and caused liim tv> run out of his house* 
expecting to Hnd a hre. 

"Althougii t-Ue corn was twofi-el high 
and Vi'ry strong and vigorous, tie h^i!. 
winds cooked it. coir.pletely, and it wilted 
aiul fell over There has never been a 
hot wind like it since in this section id" 
the state, altiiougii western Kansas people 
born after 1800 are able to describe sim- 
il;ir experiences. The fact tliat t'lis sec- 
tit>n of the state is now free from hoL 
winds is due to the circumstance that the 
country west of us has Ikh'U st'ttlel up, 
and the great desert where the winds 
were iieated, no longer exists. There is 
nothing in the theory tiiat the rain lu'lt 
gradually travels westward witli tiie set- 
tlements; one of the wors', «lroatli.s in the 
history of tlie West was experiencv'd la>t 
summer in Illinois, while ea.siern IvansjiS 
had timely rains aiul aluiinhmt cro))s. 
This section is su[)piied wi<.li moist uie 
from the Gulf of Mexico, and possibly 
one year in tive, this aerial stream over- 
flows, and there are he.ivy rains in the 
extreme West, when the people say the 
rain bilt is travelling westward, but the 
truth is, that tifty years ago the same 
conditions existed as «'xist at present. 
No traveler remembers butfalo grass or 
sagt' brusli in this secl/uui of the \Ve>L, 
and during the time tiiat a record luH 
been kept, t!ie rainfall has not iiu-reased 
in, western Kans;is, Colorado or Wyoin- 
iiig'. ' 

"The j)rincipal settlements in ISliU 
were within thirty or forty mihus of 



(4!{AV'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



37 



Atc)ii>;< 11, iiltlioiigh thoro were settlers 
aloiii,' tlu' streaius as far west as AYater- 
ville. '1 l.'ere 1.;h1 not been much immi- 
oratioii ihatyenr. or since 185S: iiuleed 
Kansas* probably lost population from 
18.">S to 18t)0, owing to the Kansas war, 
and otlur I'iiuses. 

"The distress of the people attracted 
the prompt attenti-n and assisi;.iice of 
abolition leaders in the East. IS. C 
Pomei\>y had arrived at Lawrence in 
.1654, at tile head of the second big party 
of New Kngland Free State immigrants. 
.■'.Tid had located in Atchison two orthrte 
years later. It was largely through his 
erVorts that the --aid" of lSt>U-l was sent 
tt) Kansas and distributed. 

"It came about naturally and Poineroy 
<';^triblited the aid received, as he was 
the friend and agent of Eli Thayer ami 
Thaddeus Hyatt, the wealthy abolition 
t nthusiasts who collected much of the 
aid. and who had been instrumental in 
sending thousands of Free State settlers 
to Kansas. A distributing office was es- 
1 iblished in a wooden building opposite 
the old p»ostot1ice, and a fabulous amount 
oiaid poured into this depot from July, 
JbbO, until the following spring. Every 
tiling in the way of food and clothing 
was sejit in the most liberal quantity, 
;it:d it was no unusual sight to see a 
roz-eii wagons from western and southern 
Ivansas hjading in front of the distribut- 
ing depou at o :e time. These wagons 
crone thirty, fifty. seventy-Hve and a 
iiUii<h\'d iiiik'-, tlie drivers being fur- 
i-isiatHi unurs ii(.m local cumiiiittees as 
VMichtrs. S. (. . VCing, who clerked in 
E. K. Blair's ^l>.le at the time, and who 
;..f*;^n ;»f>!-lstt.d P(. ir.eroy in distributing 



the aid, remembers one man who got a 
lot of aid, and spent ^^To for luxuries in 
the store. 



Redpntli nitd Lane. 

^Ye here present a few extracts from 
an editorial that a})peared in the Doni- 
phan Crusader of Freedom, of date May 
17, 18o8, which expresses Editor James 
Red path's opinion of "General" James 
H. Lane: 

"I did not know then, what I have 
since learned tti my cost, that he is as 
dishonest in business as in politics, that 
his word of honor is as worthless as his 
character, that his solemn promises, in 
nine cases out often, are infallible indica- 
tions of what he will not do. 

"If he 'cr;;slies me out" -- he has said he 
would do it— it will be the first promise 
he has kept, and I will willingly accord 
him the credit of it. 

"He would ruin a frien<l or a woman 
with as little compunction as he would 
eat an egg, and would take pleasure in 
doing it, if it would advance his am- 
bition by a single hairsbivadth. I sol- 
emnly declare that I never knew him to 
perform a disinterested action excepting 
in two instances only: once, in Nebraska 
in assisting a fugitive to escape; once, in 
Leavenworth, in giving a dollar to a citi- 
zen for a widow in destitute circum- 
stances. He insisted that the widow 
should know who gave the dollar. If 
he has seen her since, and did not try to 
seduce her, the fact should be mentioned 
as a remarkable incident by his future 
biographer. 

"He wished me to advocate his claims 
to the presidency. 1 told him that if a 



38 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



new man is to be chosen by the Republic- 
an party, I would vote for Frank Blair, of 
Missouri, and refused to mention him in 
connection with any office whatever. 
He "looked hell" at me, to adopt his own 
choice language, but said nothing about 
it. 

"He wished to engage me in a crim- 
inal enterprise, and then I wouhl bi- his 
slave forever! I never hated Lane un- 
til he asked me to do this deed. I did 
indeed desj^ise him from the bottom of 
my soul, but 1 did not believe him to be 
capable of a scheme so diabolical— to in- 
volve a young man, without any cause 
in a criminal act of private revenge. It 
was so cowardly, contemptible and lul- 
lish that I left him witiiout saying a 
word. 

The "criminal enterprise" was ti.e 
suggested murder of Robt. vS. Kellv-y. 
editor of the Squatters' Sovereign, sug- 
gested by l^ane. who wanted to get even 
with Ivelly for having written tlie follow- 
ing letter said to have l)een picked up in 
Doniithan: 

" 'Lane takes with him a wagon, in 
which there are seven muskets that I 
know of, and probably more. Vv jitch 
your chance, and be sure and capture 
them. They are a part of the guns 
stolen from us during the late excitement 
here. For God's sake, don't fail to put 
it to Lane. 

R. S. Kelley. 

"Lane wears a coat of mail. If you 
expect to hit him in a vital place, aim at 
his head." 

R. S. K. 



St. Valentine's Day. 

(1863) 

One of the earliest recognitions of a 
St. Valentine's Day custom was sh(iwn in 
Wolf River township in l8(j:-;. On the 
approach of the saint's day, the boys and 
girls of the prairie met and agreed to ex- 
chance valentines when the day shotdd 
arrive. A "postoffice" was establisherl 
i at the broom factory of Dave Morse lo<'- 
! ated about a quarter of a mile south of 
' the present home of A. L. Wynkoop, of 
the Bendena neighborhood. Link Morse 
was "commissioned" postmaster for the 
occasion, and an agreement was made that 
the oilice should be open at nine o'clock 
on St. Valentine's morn. Promptly at 
that hour on that eventful day, the post- 
office door was tlirown open, and Link 
in his best clothes and with the most sol- 
emn dignity bespeakiiig the liigh charac- 
ter of his position, appeared behind t'no 
j dry goods box which served the pi!r])(».-e 
of receptacle for the "mail." l^atrons of 
the office soon began to arrive— girls o.". 
horseback, galloping across the hills, their 
cheeks red with the kiss of the winter 
wind, and the boys trudging through the 
snow with their guns on their snouMers, 
well shaven and handsome, with high top 
boots and fur caps, all happy witli antici- 
pation. The girls, possessing the greater 
curiosity, were the first to ask for the 
"mail." Postmaster jMorse with well pre- 
served dignity, handed out the first miss- 
ive. It was a neat envelope made of a 
coarse yellow wrapping paper, the kind 
often used in those days to wraj) '■.\\> Kirk's 
soap, and contained a very ugly print 
picture clipped from Frank Leslie's Bud- 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



39 



oot, or some other humorous sheet. It 
lepreseuted an ohl ni.aid wearing side- 
curl ss, and wide and rebounding hoop- 
skirt. The recipient giggled, bit a piece 
out of tl»e valentine, pouted and then put 
it into the stove in the corner. The sec- 
ond envelope opened revealed a playing 
card, the queen of hearts, which, at first 
was taken as a compliment; but some 
words scrawled in pencil on tlie margin 
cleared aAvay all doubt as to the real 
sentiment of the sender of the valentine. 
It was limping poetry, and read some- 
thing like this: 
"Your smile seems warm, but your heart 

seems cold. 
And you are wanting to marry, I'm told, 
IJut we know you well, and you'll have 

to wait 
'Till a blind man comes, or leave the 

state." 

While the victim of this joke was still 
screaming with rage and tearing up the 
"nasty ohl card," half a dozen young 
men entered and received their mail. 
Such an array of <romics had never been 
seen. Thei"e were crude cartoons cut 
from the comic papers, prints from Hos- 
tetter's green covered almanac^ cuts from 
sto(;k and farm journals representing the 
donkey, the goat and that otlier domestic 
;tninjal thai despises red and wears a ring 
in hi'* nosis and a dozen other samples 
from as majiy sources. These were all ex- 
hibited causing an uj)roar of hiughter and 
a hurricane of delight. Those that had 
been ^ exed came out of their pouts and 
joi)ie<l in the merry chorus, even the girl 
who got the qucH-n of hearts, and none 
laughed louder aiul longer than she. 
Thus {(.assed the merry St. Valentine's 



day on the prairie, in the long ago, and 
we'll say no more about it here, because 
two or three of the girls are still living 
in this County. 



Lost in a Snowstorm. 

In the Spring of 1856, a man by the 
name of Isaac Perkins settled on the 
Prairies on Cedar Greek in this County, 
about four miles down the Creek on 
what is now the crossing on the Highland 
and Hiawatha road. Along about the 
holivlays in that year, his daughter, Mary, 
who had V>een visiting friends at Iowa 
Point, started to return home. Soon 
after starting there came up one of these 
terrible blizzards from th^ northwest, 
which the early settlers Avill remember, 
occasionally 8we{)t the country, like a 
besom of destruction. During one of 
these terrible times almost every living 
thing which remained unsheltered, per- 
ished in the bitter storm. From that 
it turned into a regular north-west bliz- 
zard, hlling the air, and bewildering the 
poor girl until she strayed away from 
the buffalo trail she was following across 
the high prairie and completely lost 
her way. She wandered around all day 
and at night found herself on the banks 
of the creek, only two miles from home, 
but so completely bewildered that she 
had no idea of direction. She crept un- 
der the bank of the creek, made herself 
a shelter of brush, boughs and snow, and 
prepared to spend the night. In this 
retreat she remained for forty-six hours, 
finally becoming unconscious. Her folks 
supposing her to be still with her rela- 
tives, had no anxiety. The next after- 
noon after she had left Iowa Point they 



40 



GRAV\S DONIPHAN COU^'I Y IIISrORV. 



discovered her absence and arousing the 
sparsely settled neighborhood, search was 
begun but not until the search had con- 
tinued one whole day and night was 
she discovered. ^^'hen found she was 
helpless and unconscious. While lying- 
there aiul before she became unconscious, 
she wrote the story of her wanderings 
and sufferings in a Kansas snow storm. 
She described the agony endured, think- 
ing she was going to die away from home 
and mother, and all fritnds she held so 
dear. The tablet she had to write her 
story on was her shoes, and her desk was 
the frozen snow in front of her. Tiie 
story she had written in this homely way 
while awaiting the dreaded messenger 
was publislu'd in the i)ap(rs and widely 
copied through the East. After being 
taken to her honu' and medical assistance 
summoned, it was found that her lower 
limbs were so badly frozen, that both 
feet had to be ami)utated. She eventu- 
ally recovered her iiealth, and although a 
crij)ple for life, the last time I saw her 
she was well and hearty, and seemed to 
be enjoying life, trying to make t'very 
one around her happy.— J. M. Makoum, in 
Robinson Index, Feb., 1900. 



IJi^- Hail Storm. 

One of the nu)st destructive hail storins 
that ever visited the Couuty= 'canie'on 
Sunday afternoon. May 3rd, 18^63. 'The 
following account of the storm' is from 
the White C'loud Chief, of date-May f7th 
of that year: • ^■■■ 

"About four o'clock huge'teil ' stones 
began to fall at intervals, souY»di'ii'g'"like 
large rocks dropped upon the 'r6'6fs'"6f 



houses. Very soon the storm burst in 
all its fury, and hail came fast and thick. 
It appeared more like solid chunks of ice 
than hail stones. It seemed as if the 
bottom had dropped out of some ice 
house in tiic upper regions, and the solid 
cakes of ice precipitated on tlie world 
below. The storm continued for over 
half an hour, and in tliat time did im- 
mense damage. We saw one liail stoise 
that measured twelve inches in eireum- 
ference, aiul weighed one pound. We 
have heard of still larger ones. We had 
a number that measured from ten to 
eleven inches, and five picked up at rau- 
dotn weighed three and one half pounds. 

"Out of one hundred and forty-four 
panes of glass in the east end of the City 
Hotel, but eleven were left unbroken; 
and nearly every j»ane of glass was 
broken out of the windows in the east 
and nortli-east sides of every house in 
town, and the sasli smashed to pieces. 
Shingles were knocked from the roofs (d" 
houses, panels split from doors, feneing 
boards sliattered, and in one case a hail 
stone went through a roof, sl\ingU's, 
sheeting and all. Some of the stones, 
on reaching the ground, bounded ten or 
fifteen feet iilto the air, the largest ones 
bursting as they fell. We saw several 
fly into three or four pieces, each piece 
of which must have weighed half a 
pound. This was the artillery of the 
storm. After about an liour's cessation, 
the musketry came, and we liad a heavy 
shower of rain and small hail. 

"•The damage caused by the storm is 
Considerable, Sheep^ calves and poultry 
have been killed, and larger animals eon- 
siderably bruised. Wherever the hail hit 



GIAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



41 



cattle it took the hair off in wads. We 
liave heai'l »f many persons being in- 
jured by tht«,hail. We have been told 
<if a lady livitig several miles from here, 
who was on her way home on horseback, 
w.ien the storm ovtM'took her. A large 
liail-stone struck her on the head, caus- 
ing the blood to How profusely- She 
was also struck on the arm, receiv- 
ing a severe bruise, and we understand 
t lat she is still suffering considerably 
from her injuries. 



Major Daniel Vanderslice, 

Major Daniel Vanderslice was of Hol- 
land descent, and the spelling of his 
name was perhaps Van der Slice. His 
ancestors were among the early Dutch 
settlers of America. He was born at 
Reading, Berks County, Pa., on the 
10th of February, 1799. His father, 
whose name was also Daniel, with his 
family, resided in Philadelphia, but ow- 
ing to t!ie prevalence of yellow fever in 
tiiat city, in the fall of 1798, with which 
he was himself attacked, he sent his wife 
to Reading, to her father's, Abraham 
C-remmens, where she remained for some 
time after t!ie birth of the subject of this 
sketch. His mother, on account of ill- 
ness, not being able to nurse him, he 
was taken to a married sister, named 
Fv)X, wiio had lost an infant a few days 
before. When his mother recovered she 
returned to Philadelphia, leaving the 
baby with her sister, who had become so 
much attached to him that she was un- 
willing to part with him. He remained 
nntil he was about four years old, when 
I'.e was taken to the family in the city. 
As Mrs. Fox and her family converse 



almost wholly in German, the boy had 
no knowledge of the English language 
when he reached Philadelphia; but as 
soon as he was old enough, he was sent 
to school and soon forgot his German. 

His father died about the beginning of 
the war of 1812, That war had caused a 
vast amount of excitement; and the cap- 
ture of n any ships by American priva- 
teers and the naval operation generally, 
created a strong desire among the young 
men and boys to enter the service. 
Among them, young Vanderslice sought 
service on one of the gunboats that was 
being hui redly repaired, and which was 
soon after captured by a British squad- 
ron by the cajtes of Dele ware. But 
Daniel had been prevented from going 
by his mother sending him up to Chester 
C ounty, on Brandy Creek, where he was 
apprenticed to Joseph Bicking, to learn 
paper making, with whom he worked 
out his time and became a skilled work- 
man. 

After serving out his term and becom- 
ing of age, Mr. Vanderslice, in March, 
1820, went to Washington City; but he 
soon after went to Kentucky and taught 
school at Ferran Creek, near Louisville. 
At the exjiiration of a tenn of school, 
his services were in demand at his trade, 
and he engaged with the Johnsons at 
Great Crossings, Scott County, Kentucky. 

In March, 1822, he joined an expedi- 
tion to explore and work the lead mines 
on River La Feve, in northwestern Illi- 
nois, and a lease was granted to the com- 
pany to work a quantity of land for a 
given number of years. But there was 
trouble with the Indians over these min- 
eral lands, and upon arriving at Rock 



42 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUXTV HLSTOIIV 



Island, the employees were organized in- 
to a rifle company, and Mr. Vanderslice 
was chosen captain. Tliereafter he was 
known as "Captain Van," and was also 
an arbitrator, or referee, lo settle all dis- 
putes arising among j)roprietor8 and 
miners, and his decisions were generally 
acquiesced in. While in camp on liock 
Island, n)any councils were held with tlie 
Indians and the Major (>ften met the 
great chiefs. Black Hawk and Keokuk. 
He listened to one of Keokuk's eloquent 
and impassionate speeches, in which, 
while protesting his friendship for the 
whites, and his devotion to the govern- 
ment, he complained of the grasping dis- 
position and encroachments of the people 
of the states. He compared the red men 
to a little dog that liad found a bone, 
and the whites to a big dog that leaped 
upon the little one and took the bone 
from iiim. Keokuk is described, as be- 
ing at that time, a sjtlendid specimen of 
manhood. 

Mr, Vanderslice soon went to work at 
his trade in Jefferson CV)unty, Ky. , 
where he was married, and as he could 
not persuade his wife to go to Galena, 
he settled down to work, and was soon 
able to buy a small farm. In 1825 he 
returned to Great Crossing and went to 
work at his trade, and the following year 
he entered into partnership with General 
David Thompson, who owned a mill at 
Longview on the Elkhorn. In 183 he 
went to see the races, where two of the 
horses flew the track, one of them run- 
ning against his mare and breaking his 
leg in the collision. He was taken to 
the house of General William Johnson, 
a nephew of Col. Richard M. Johnson, 



who owned a paper mill, where he dis- 
solved his partnership with Gen. Thom}-- 
son and accepted the management of the 
Great Crossing paper mills. He was 
appointed postmaster, and occasionally 
corresponded for the papers, Hi<i polit- 
ical articles were in support of the 
measures favored by General Jackson, 
and in opposition to Nullification. He 
was elected Lieutenant of a volunteer 
company, and was selected to procure a 
suitable flag for the company, on which 
he had inscribed in golden letters, on a 
scroll held in the beak of a spread eagle, 
the words— "The Union, It Must and 
Shall be Preserved." These memorable 
words became the watchword of the 
Democrats, who opposed the Nullification 
doctrine of the principles of John C. 
Calhoun. When Jackson issued a pro- 
clamation against that fallacy, Mr. Vaii- 
derslice had printed two tliousand copies 
on tinted paper and some on satin, for 
distribution: and where they could not 
be reached by mail, he filled his saddle 
bags with them, and traveled from hamlet 
to hamlet, distributing them among the 
people. 

Having purchased the Kentucky Sen- 
tinel, at Georgetown, Mr. Vanderslice 
conducted it in advocacy of the election 
of Martin Van Buren and Richard M. 
Johnson for president of the United 
States in 1836. He next purchased a 
stock of goods, and turned his attention 
to mercantile affairs; but foreseeing, from 
the signs of the times, the great crash 
that was coming, he sold out in time to 
save himself. 

Early in Mar;ch, 1837, Major Vander- 
slice was appointed special agent for t le 



OKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



43 



removal of the C'hickasaw ludiaus to 
i])eir n.-w homes west of the Mississippi. 
'i"lie duties were attended with more than 
ordinary difficulties, as well as dangers. 
These Indians were recognized as citizens 
and were subject to being sued for debt, 
the same as white people ; and as they 
liad much property, as soon as it was 
found that they were going to emigrate, 
all manner of claims were trumped up 
against them, which required much time 
to adjust, all of which devolved upon the 
Major. Owing to his experience with 
Indians and his success in managing them, 
Major Vanderslice, in 1853, was ap- 
pointed by President Pierce, agent of 
the lowas and the Sacs and Foxes of Mis- 
souri, located in the northern part of this 
County, the Agency then being at the 
Mission Farm, at Highland. He held 
his position until Lincoln became presi- 
dent, in 1801. During his incumbenc .', 
he opened a road through the bottom, 
from St. Joseph to the blulls atWathena, 
now known as the Rock Road. He also 
conducted the sales of the Iowa Trust 
l^ands, at Iowa Point, in 185 7, embrac- 
ing all the country, from the Missouri 
river at White Cloud and Iowa Point 
westward, to the vicinity of Padonia, 
Brown County. During his administra- 
tion, the Agency was removed from the 
Mission to near the Nemaha river north- 
west of White Cloud. 

Major Vanderslice was a member of 
the Lecompton Constitutional Conven- 
tion in 1857, and framed the constitution 
that created such an uproar in Kansas, 
and caused so many elections, the final 
one being its rejection, under the propos- 
ition known as the "En<jrlish Bill." 



Since retiring from the Indian Agency, 
]Mr. Vanderslice has held no public posi- 
tion, but retained his residence in this 
County. He always took great interest 
in politics but, while being warm parti- 
san, he always had respect for the opin- 
ions of those who dilfered from him. 
He did not engage in any of the methods 
of what was known as the "Border Ruf- 
fian" party, and during the war was loyal. 
His connections and associations were 
all Southern but he held to his senti- 
ments of the Jacksonian days. He had 
for many years been a member of the 
Masonic Fraternity, and had reached a 
j high rank in the Order. . Althougb 
: placed iji public positions in which he 
might h«ve ama:-^sed an independent for- 
tune, and in which many others did 
} make fortunes, no taint of peculation or 
j dishonesty were attached to him. He 
I was never in affluent circumstances, and 
died very poor. 

Major Vanderslice died February 5, 
1889, lacking just rive days of being 90 
yearc! of age. His funeral took place at 
I Highland on Thursday, the 7th, con- 
ducted by the Masons of fclie Smithton 
Lodge, the first Masonic Lodge institut- 
j ed in Kansas, of wliich he was one of 
the founders.— Kansas Chief. 



The River Towus in 'Fit'ty-Niiie. 

It may interest many to read what 
Red path's "'Handbook to Kansas Terri- 
tory" had to say concerning the riv^r 
tOAvns, in 1859. We quote: 

"DoNiPHAN—There are four natural 
roads leading from Doniphan out into 
the surrounding country— Deer creek, 



44 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN OOUNTV HISTOHi'. 



rising in the south-west, Independence 
creek in the west, Rock creek in the 
north-west, and Spring creek in tiie north. 
Doniphan is situated in a district of tim- 
bered land, more extensive and of better 
quality than is elsewhere to be found on 



issued the Palermo Leader, a g(>o(l hotel 
and a school house. The hoj)i?s of tlie 
proprietors as to the future pr<>.>j)erity of 
their towxi, are leased upon a jjrojecl'ed 
railroail, the St. Josepli & roj)eka, t(!i - 
nvinating there. A charter has been 



the Missouri river. Owing to tbLs fact, i granted and a large amount of sloe!, takeii. 
lumber is sold by the Doniphan mills at] Elwoo!).— 'i'his town, o})p.>^Jte S;,. 
a lower ligui'e than at any other point in j Joseph, was laid out in the Spring of 
Kansas. Two extensive saw mills are in ' 1857, on the site of Roseport. It cou- 

operation It often liappens, when the ! tains about 1,5U0 inhabitants, a large 

water is low, that heavy draft boats have ' number of buildings, a iine hotel, three 
to reload here in order to get over saw mills, several shLugle, planing, and 
Smith's bar, thus making Doniphan the i lath machines, a number of stores an<i a 
great depot for up-river commerce. j jjriuting otlice, from which the Kansas 

"Geary City.— This little town is sit- j Press is issued weekly. It aiuio to be 
uated two or three miles above Doniphan the rival of St. Joseph, and shouM it be- 
but has no advantage over it. It has a come important, will derive its value 
poor site, lies situated too far out for an from its proximity to that city. IS'o 
interior trade, has no steam ferry, nor doubt would exist of its future but for 
rich citizens, nor other means of rapid ] the lowness of its site, the town being 
growth— nothing to support it but a built on what, but a few ye.irs .since, was 
strata of good clay, 'at for the potter's the bed of the Missouri rivor. it i.s very 
use.' It is not likely to increase in low and flat, and will require a large 
numbers. Population yuo or 400. It is i amount of cxpeuditure capital to secuie 
what is called a speCiilator's town. i it against inundations, Tiiis diiliculty 

Petersburg.— Si'.uated tliree or four overcome, Elwood will be a point of 
miles above Geary "City" It also is a great commercial int< rest. 
great city— a speculator's eity. It con- | "Iowa Point.— Tiiis is situated thirty 
sists of— one hut. I miles from St. Joseph and iilvv.*od, the 

Palermo.— This is the next point. It former being the terminus of the Ha.iui- 
is three miles in a direct line from St. ' bal & St. Joseph railroad. It contains a 
Joseph, and eight miles by river. It population of several hundred, a number 
was located by some Missouri speculators ' of enterprising merchants, a good scho. 1, 
early in 1855; in the spring of 1857, etc. A daily line of stage from Leaven- 
large purchases were made by a Free- , worth, connecting there with the stages 
State company. Since then the town has i in connection with the l*aci;ic railroa i. 



steadily progressed. It now contains 
about 500 inhabitants and 150 buiidings, 
a large steam, saw, and Houring uiill, sev- 



have their stopping place here. It is an 
enterprising place, w;;.s laid ont in 18J.> 
by Southern men, but is now principally 



eral stores, a printing othccfrom which is | in Free-State hands 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



45 



"Highland. --This is an enterprising 
village. It is the seat of a projected 
college under the direction of the Pres- 
byterian church. One wing of the build- 
ing is under process of erection. A 
newspaper, the Highlander, is published 
there. 

"Whitk Cloud.— This is the last point 
—being but two miles from the Nebraska 
line in Kansas — on the Missouri river. 
It wjis located in the summer of 1857, 
and now contains 50U inhabitants, five 
stores, a printing office, from which is 
issued the Kansas Chief, and also a good 
school. Good coal is found there, also 
iron ore, limestone and an abundance of 
excellent timber. The landing is a good 
rock one." 



A Doniphan County Oolgotha. 

A young man who has an attentive ear 
for stories pertaining to the early days, 
with whom we were recently talking, 
said: "Ever ride to a funeral with an 
old man who lived here in the early days? 
Well, he's the man to listen to, and the 
time of a funeral is the time to hear him. 
Not very long ago I rode with an old 
gentleman pioneer in a funeral proces- 
sion. The funeral train led through 
wood and vale, wound round hills and 
jogged over rills and across gulches un- 
til I thought the hearse man had lost his 
way and was driving in a circle. At 



every turn of the road which led through 
Burr Oak township, ray venerable com- 
panion would point to a hill, or slope, or 
gulch, or glade, saying: 'On yonder hill 
we buried the old man that was hooked 
to death by his cow, as he was leading 
her to water at a spring by the old trail; 
on the slope sleeps the man that was 
killed by the steamboat captain; not far 
from that gulch two men had a tight to 
death over a woman, and both were bur- 
ied somewhere in the gulch; on that 
knoll are the graves of a few men that 
were too slow with their guns. They 
were buried in shallow graves, and 
some years ago their skulls were found 
rolling down the hill; bj'^ yonder tree a 
man was found dead with a bullet hole 
In his forehead; there by that spring two 
men fought a duel with knives over a 
game of cards, etc., etc., until one 
might believe that the place was a verit- 
able Golgotha." 

There is more or less mystery con- 
nected with many of those early day 
tragedies, which never can be cleared up. 
No doubt in the Burr-oak hills lie hidden 
the Vjones of many a "inissing man," long 
sought for by. sorrowing family and sym- 
pathizing friends; and Avith the author 
of "Beyond the Mississippi" we may ask, 
"Who shall sing the saddest strain of the 
nameless graves, which thicker than 
milestones, dot the emigrant roads from 
Missouri to California?" 



CHAPTER V 



pen SKeTCHes. ere, 



(CONTIXUED.) 



A SKET( H OF EARLY ELWOOI). 

The sketch here presented is from the 
St. Joseph Gazette of date December 22, 
1901. It presents matter that has not 
appeared in any of the histories of the 
County, and, as the Gazette always took 
great and kindly interest in the affairs of 
our County, we may rest assured tiiat 
the sketch is well worthy of our coiitl- 
dence. 

The New York Daily Times, Decem- 
ber 18, 18t>l: 

"Elwood is one of the most promising 
places in Kansas, and from the eligibility 
of its position and great local advantages, 
bids fair to become the chief commercial 
metropolis of the future state." 

Forty years have elapsed since the 
prophecy was made, and now the resi- 
dents of St. Joseph's Kansas suburb be- 
lieve it is about to be fululled. 

A city directory of Elwood and St. 
Joseph combined for the years 1860-(il 
contains the foregoing extract from the 
New Y'ork Daily Times. Continuing. 
the article says: 

"Situated directly opposite St. Jo5jp'.i, 



Elwood is placed by the Hannibal t^ St. 
Joseph railroad in direct communication 
with the most populous and wealthy 
cities of the East, and by the first of 
April will be within tifty hours' travel 
of New Y'ork. It is the starting point 
of the railroad chartered to Palmetto, on 
the South Pass route to Salt Lake ar.d 
California, and of the St. Joseph it To- 
peka railroad, which will command a 
great portion of the trade of New Mexico. 
It lies on the west bank of the Missouri. 
on the verge of extensive, elevated and 
; thickly wooded bottoms, which require 
! no grading; its streets are broad and 
I rectanofular and its levee can be ap- 
proached with safety by the largest boats 
and is sufticiently spacious for an im- 
mence commerce." 

The New York TriV>une of January. 
1859, commenting upon the prospects (f 
Elwood, said: 

"The rapid growth of Elwood. tlic 
principal town in Northern Kansas, is 
due to its position on the Missouri rivr 
directly opposite St. Joseph— the Seconal 
city in Missouri. Since 1849, when the 
overland emiarration to California com- 



GiiAY'8 DO^'lJMIAN lOrXTY HISTORY. 



47 



ineiicod, tliis point has been an impor- 
tant one. The largest overland emigra- 
tion to Kansas, has been, and continues 
to go through St. .losejih and Elwood. 
The government trains and the Salt Lake 
mail have long made this their starting 
point. It is the only town in Kansas 
iiiat can be readied by railroad." 

This is Elwood as it was looked upon 
forty years ggo. The town did not prog- 



obtained at low prices. Oxen, wagons, 
mules, ten.ts, blankets, and everything 
needed f.-r a trip over the plains, can be 
bought better at Elwood than at any oth- 
er point on the frontier. 

"Elwood is situated at the eastern ter- 
minus of tiie old California road, which 
has been the route taken by the overland 
travelers since 1SJ:9 and is now es- 
tablished as the best road to the gold 



ress as was expected, but, on the other j mines of the Rocky mountains. The 
hand declined for years. 'l"he city direct- j road from Elwood to the prairie has 
ory for 1860-01 is owned by Charles M. been recently entirely repaired and is now 



Beits, a local real estate dealer. It con- 
tains I0.5 nanus, and among thtm are 



a lirstclass road in all kinds of weather. 
Elwood is situated in a rich vallev where 



ured prominently in the history of Kan- 
sas. The tov.n was at one time known 



found those of persons who later tig- j grass shoots early and those who wish to 

spend a few days in getting ready for a 
trip to the mines will tind excellent 
as Rosoport, but the name was changed j camping ground there, and plenty of 
to Elwovid a short time previous to the wood to burn and grass for cattle. El- 
date that the directory was issued. The vrood is the terminus of the Elwood & 
town was an active rival of St. Joseph in I Marysviile railroad, which is already 
early days, 'i he old directory seeks to j graded for many miles. It is expected 
advertise the t«.wn as an outiitting point to be in rjnning order to Troy, twelve 
in the following terms: ■ miles west, in a few months. It is the 

"All persons who have determined to | Urst railroad built in Kansas." 
unvlertake the journey over the plains are l,i the lowlands of eastern Kansas, El- 
qulte anxious to learn the best route, ; ^vood hj:s peacefully slumbered since the 
and the best place for procuring teams | optomistic views expressed in the fore- 
and an outtit. An experience of 10 years | going. The war put a quietus, for a 
has fixed upon the route beginning at El- j time on the railroad prospects and the 
wo',;d, Kansas, (directly opposite St. Jo- ; equipment of the one lone railroad of the 
seph. Mo.) and proceeding thence by Ft. 'state was returned to St. Joseph, whence 
Kearney and the valley of the Platte as > it v/as first taken on a ferrv. 



the ^hortest, safest and best route from 
the ^lissouri river to the great V\ est. El- 
wood, Kan., is connected wirli St. Jo- 
seph by t'le best ferry on the ]^[i^souri ; 
it lias first class hotels and larg business 
houses, where everything in . the line of 
[:iovisions a!id outritting articles can be 



It was in Elwood that men who made 
the long trip to the Eldorado of the 
Rocky mountains, purchased their sup- 
plies. Some drove oxen across the 
plains, while others were satisfied with 
but a wheelbaxTow containing food, 
water, a shovel, a pick and a few other 



48 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY IIISTOKY 



implements necesaaty for mining. His- 
tory reeonls the successes and failures 
of the unsophisticated patriarchs of the 
Missouri valley in the gold fields. His- 
tory of late years has recorded little of 
El wood for the towxi died— it is believed 
forever. 

The historical town has put on new 
life during the last few weeks. When 
the announcement was made that the 
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railroad 
intended to buiid a bridge across the 
river to Elwood, the people of the ham- 
let awoke from their slumber of nearly 
half a century. Many of thera had 
hoped, during all of those years, that the 
tide which had swept on to the great 
west would some day recede, and that 
Elwood would, by some unknown chance 
yet become a figure in the world of com- 
merce and manufacture. There was 
little tangible basis for the hope, it is 
true, but the fulriliment of the dream is 
said by railroad men to l)e near at band. 

The bill authorizing the construction 
of the Rock Island bridge has been in- 
troduced in the senate. It is believed 
that it will pass without trouble, and to 
Elwood this will meaTi much, if the re- 
ports that have been current recently can 
be relied upon. It is stated to be the in- 
tention of the Chicago. Rock Island cfe 
Pacific railroad to build switch yards on 
the Kansas side. A large grain elevator, 
with the capacity of a half million bushels 
has been built during tiie last few years 
at Elwood, and those who never lost con- 
fidence in the town, say that the day is 
near at hand, when, from the sleeping 
burg, there will arise a big town; that 
the natural advantages of the place will 



no longer be overlooked, since abundant 
railroad facilities are assured. 

THE CITY OKyiOlCRS. 

Froju the appendix of the old <lire'ct<>ry 
of the town are gathered the names of 
men who were well known to the early 
settlers of St. .loseph. Some of them 
have since become famous in other parts 
of the state and country. The city gov- 
ernment of Elwood in 1861 was repre- 
sented by t'le following ofhcials: 

Mayor, (ireorge W. IJarr. 

Clerk, Dr. J. AV. Robins'.n. 

Assessor, William H. High. 

Attorney, T. A. Osborn. 

'i'reasurer, R. S. Sayward. 

collector, C harles O. Smith. 

C ity Council, VMliiam H. High, D. H. 
Jones, J. II. Hatcher, A. F'isque, W. 1;. 
Lev/is. L. C. Roth. William Luke, W. 
Croft", A. W. Tice. 

Police Department. 'I'lie p'.iice force 
cousis^ed of the chi<'f. or city myrshai. 
and thr(re policemen, the latter of w!i«mi 
were immediately responsible to the 
mayor. 

MarS'ial, Charles O. Smith; office cor- 
ner Filth and I)oiiglas streets. 

roliccmeii, Andre',\- ^Seal. Arthur Car- 
roll and Richard lio'ivell. 

Let it be knowii that. a1 the present 
day, t!ie city gMvernn\eiit el Elwood is 
vested in two or three men. 

There was but one incorporated com- 
pany in Elwood in IbGl. It was the 
Elwooil l^uilding association, the office 
of which was located at the corner of 
Sixth and Douglas streets. The concern 
was incorporated in I860 by D. W. Wil- 
der, A. L. Lee. Charles II. Hatcher, 



G:IAV\S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



49 



TlK're was one rciiular chuivh at El- 
wood. At St. Mark's Episcopal church, 
h>cated on Foreman street, between Sev- 
entli and Eiglith streets, services were 
held at 3 o'clock each Sunday afternoon. 
Rev. J. E, Ryan was its rector in 1861. 
Jioligious services were held occasionally 
by persons attached to the Congrega- 
tional church in a public hall. 

Of the Elwood & Marysville railroad 
tlie directory says: 

"This road is graded to Troy with 
iron enough on hand to lay it, rnd trains 
will be running regularly by August 1. 

Reference is made to the Marysville & 
Denver City railroad as follows: "This 
railroad is a continuation of the Marys- 
ville & Roseport railroad and will be 
surveyed immediately." 

The business directory of the town in 
1861 shows the following number of per- 
sons engaged in difi'erent business onter- 
] arises at Elwood. Insurance agents, 1; 
real estate agents, 1; attorneys at law, 3; 
bakers, '2\ bank no^e detector, 1; billiard 
halls, 2; blacksmiths, 2; breweries, 1; 
brickmaker, 1 ; butcher, 1 ; carpenters, G; 
coffee house, 1 ; dentist, 1; draper and 
tailor, 1; druggist, 1; dry goods stores, 4; 
gardener, 1 ; grist mill, 1; groceries, 3; 
hotels 2; justices of the peace, 1; livery 
stable ] ; meat market, 1; millwright, 1; 
newspaper, 1; painters, 2; physicians, 3; 
plasterers, 1; restaurants, 1; saloons. 5; 
slioemakers, 3; steam saw mill, 1; stock- 
(^ealer, 1; stove and tinware dealers, 1; 
wagon makers, 3; watch m:\k- r, 1; wo< d 
merchants, 2. 

John Broder, ex-chief of the police' of 
St. Josejih, drove the tirst spike on ti;e 



tirst railroad west of the Missouri river 
at Elwood. 

John T. AVarburton, justice of the 
peace of Washington township, is one of 
the men v\'ho remain to recall the early 
fortunes of those who settled Elwood. 
Mr. Warliurton came to St. Joseph in 
the fall of 18o(i and moved to Elwood in 
1858, Avlien he went to work on the El- 
wood Free Press, where he was nothing 
more, nothing less than a printer's 'devil.' 

Elwood at that time was almost as large 
as St. Joseph. A large ht)tel stood on 
the river bank on the Kansas side, and 
as the current of the river shifted, the 
ground beg,an to crumble away from the 
foundation of the structure, which sub- 
sequently made necessary the tearing 
down of the building. 

The hotel covered a block of ground. 
Mr. V.'arburton was well acquainted with 
r. A. Osborn, "Tom" Osborn, as he was 
known ir those days, who afterwards be- 
came governor of Kansas. Osborn was 
a printer by trade, and while acting as 
city attorney at Elwood, he used to go 
to the Free Press ofRce and set type for a 
few ho»;rs "just to keep in practice," as 
he expressed it. 

Mr. Warburton was one of the men 
w^ho pulled on the rope that brought the 
first locoxT otive into the state of Kansas. 
The engine was taken across the river 
from St. Joseph on a ferry. Ropes 
were attached to it on the other side,and 
men and boys pulled the locomotive up 
the bank. In those days engines were 
named instead of tiuriibered, as now, and 
this, the first iron horse to visit the land 
of sunflot'/ers, was called the "Albany." 



50 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COl^N'l'Y HISTORY 



A mile of track had been laid toward 
Watheiia at the time the engine arrived, 
and the day following the town was in 
holiday attire. 

The engine was placed upon the track 
and ran back and forth over the rails, 
midst the cheers of the throng of specta- 
tors, to most of wh<>m the mass of iron 
and steel was a revelation. When the 
track had been completed to Wathena, a 
free excursion was run to that town. 
All day long the woods was crowded 
with an exciiji throng of people, 
who thought they saw in the ar- 
rival of the strange visitor, a power of 
civilization unsurpassed. 

This was the beginnino' of the St. Jo- 
seph, Roseport & Topeka railroad and 
its equipment in the state of Kansas t'len 
amounted to the engine '•'Albany" and 
three flat cars. The road changed hands 
at different times and became a part of 
the St. Joseph & Denver City, now the 
St. Joseph & Grand Island. 

Romantic Elopement. 

On the lips of a few of the old timers 
is a legend telling of a romantic elope- 
ment which took place in tlie vicinity of 
the historic old town of Charleston-on- 
the-Missouri. The hero was a widower, 
lacking a few years of tlfty, but he was a 
handsome man, possessing dash and cour- 
age, two manly qualities greatly admired 
by all the daughters of Eve. The hero- 
ine was young, possessing rare beauty. 
She laughed out of a pair of the sweetest 
brown eyes; her cheeks were of the tint 
of the June rose; her lips rivaled the car- 
nation, and her dark curls hung bewitch- 
ingly on her gracefully rounded shoulders, 



half screening, half revealing a neck th.jt 
a sculptor might have given a year of his 
life to see. But the girl's parents obje(tt- 
ed to the match, not only because of the 
advanced age of the man of her heart, b'.it 
on account of the depleted condition of 
his pocketbook, and his poor worldly 
prospects, he being in possession of but 
one $5 gold piece and a skiuish mul;> 
which like his owner and master, was 
well advanced in years. But, as every- 
one knows, love laughs at locksmiths an ! 
dissenting parents, and one m(K>nligl,t 
night, early in the sixties, when tlie 
houses were few and far scattered over 
the country, the hero of this story-legoid 
astride "Old Jack," rode to a secret Sj)"t 
near the home of his prospective fathci- 
in-law, where he met his dark eyed swin^'- 
heart, with a smile on her face and a 
bundle of clothes under her arm, ready to 
elope. Without delay the hero, reaching 
down his strong right arm. crooked it 
around the lissome waist of the girl, 
and lifted her to a seat on a gunuy sack, 
on the mule's back behind him. » Im- 
mediately "Old Jack," having receiveil a 
communication from the spur on the hei 1 
of the hero, sprang forward on the jour- 
ney. Casting a single glance over her 
shoulder, the girl waved a silent adieu to 
her old home; then, as the spur bit 
deeper into the flank of the skittish mule, 
her wliite arms found their way arouml 
her lover's waist, and a flying, romping 
curl tickled his ear and cheek, in a must 
tantilizing but delightful manner. 

Over the prairies dark and lonely they 
galloped, "Old Jack," the skittish, plung- 
ing and snorting; our hero riding proud 
and straight and happy; our heroine hoi .- 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNT i HXSrORl. 



51 



ing tightly, lier dark eyes sparkling like 
stars, and her raven curls tossing on the 
waves of the night wind. Across the rol- 
ling prairies of old Doniphan Caunty 
they flew, covering many miles before 
the good mule was permitted to come to 
a walk; and just as the sun began to 
ciuerga from the m;)uth of the cave of 
night, hero and heroine found themselves 
in front of the door of an early rising 
preacher, who, without unnecessary de- 
lay, tied into a fast knot their heart 
strings, which for so long a time had 
been happily entwined. 



The Ooiii't House Fire. 

From the Troy Reporter, March 14, 
1807, we copy the following account of 
the burning of the Court House in Troy, 
March 12, 1867. 

"On Tuesday afternoon, about half 
past one o'clock, the Court House in 
this town was discovered to be on fire 
in the roof of the building. Mr. Stout 
tiashed a pail of water on what could be 
seen of it, around the flue in the ceiling 
of the court room, and thought the Are 
was extinguished, bnthegave the alarm 
and several came running with water, 
'['he hatchway v.'as raised, when it was 
discovered tliat the whole of the roof was 
in flames. All hands, when this was 
announced, began to carry out and save 
the records and the papers. 'J'he wind 
was blowing very hard and it was impos- 
sible to save the building. The wood 
work was all pine, dry as powder, and 
it burned very rajjidly. 

Two prisoners were in the jai), who 
were removed and placed under guard. 

The Sheriff had stored in his office 



about two thousand dollars worth of cloth 
ing attached for some parties in St. Joseph 
which was all saved. 

A great many of the loose papers were 
scattered by the wind, and in gathering 
them up they were somewhat "mixed." 
The books and records of all kinds, to- 
gether with the safes, were all saved in 
good order. 

The court house was insured for four 
thousand dollars, in the "North Amer- 
ican" of Philidelphia. The policy had 
only been issued about six weeks. 

Three stoves, some desks, a few lamps 
and some thirty singing books, belong- 
ing to the Methodist society, were about 
all the property burned with the building. 

The building was put up under the old 
border rufSan rule, costing the county 
nearly 115, O00--enough to erect a much 
better building. It had been "cursed" 
enough to be "charmed," but it seems 
the charm departed about the time it 
took fire. The Sheriff will secure another 
room for the District Coui't, which will 
open next Monday. The District Clerk 
will have his papers all straightened up 
for court. 

Our citizens are taking' steps for the 
erection of a new and good Court House, 
which will be built with little or no ex- 
pense to the County." 



The present citizens of the Coiinty 
have not forgotten that a very bitter 
C'ounty-seat war followed. 

As tihifi page is being made ready for 
the press, the bricklayers are about 
to begin work on the construction of a 
new Court House, which will be one oi 
the fij\est in this section of the state. 



52 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COl'NTV HISTORY 



Kansas. 

Dear Editor:— Having spent the last 
week in canvassing Doniphan County, 
upon the all-engrossing topic of the en- 
franchisement of women, I feel bound 
to make a report of my proceedings, 
through your columns. I used to hear 
that the southern counties were the para- 
dise of Kansas, but I believe there is no 
liner scenery, no better soil, no place of 
richer promise in all the West, than is 
afforded in Doniphan County, and the 
best feature of it is, that Doniphan 
County will give us a large majority in 
favor of Impartial Suffrage. In sev^'al 
different localities, they promised me al- 
most the entire vote, in favt>r of woman's 
enfranchisement. This looks hopeful. 
Through sonie misunderstanding about 
the appointments, the meetings were 
failures in one or two places; but I 
promised myself the ])leasure of return- 
ing and I'eviewing the line fields and 
pleasant villages of Doniphan, and at 
that time we shall make up for all fail- 
ures of the past. At Highland I met old 
school friends— classmates of years ago-— 
and in talking over old times and old 
friends of other days, in relating adven- 
tures and experiences, the time Hew away 
before we were scarcely aware. The 
meeting at Highland was a deci^led suc^ 
cess. True, I was not allowed to occupy 
the chapel, or the school room in the uni- 
versity, because some persons thought 
politics must of necessity be separate from, 
the intiuence, both of religion and- educa- 
tion; but then, a kind gentleman very 
generously offered me the use of his stare, 
supposing, no doubt, that politics and 
commerce are intimately connected. .An 



attractive audience, composed of thinking 
and earnest people, rejoiced the heart of 
the weary lecturer. There are good 
friends of liberty in Highland, and our 
cause will have a stri)ng vote, if not the 
majority. A celebration of the colored 
people took place on the 21st, in the 
grove near Highland. It was largely at- 
tended and was an occasion of real en- 
joyment. The Hutchison family were 
present, and sang several of their stirring 
freedom songs. Every one who hears 
them sing is made better and happier by 
their sweet music. The colored people 
unanimously adopted a resolution, recog- 
nizing, in the advocates of female suffrage, 
the best friends of the colored man, and 
planted themselves upon the broad plat- 
form of Impartial suft'rage, without re- 
gard to sex or color. Mr. Langton 
made a stirring speech, in which he, at 
three different times, declared himself in 
favor of the enfranchisement of women. 
He is an elegant man and his words pro- 
duced a marked effect upon the audience. 
He spoke a little too severely and con- 
temptuously of the white race, making 
at some points rather disparaging com- 
pai'isons; but when we renumber the 
wrongs the colored man has suffered, 
we cannot blame him if, at times, he for- 
gets that there are good, intelligent and 
generous men and women even among 
the whites. But let every one speak as 
the spirit moves, and let us all, men and 
women, speak and act as conscience shall 
dictate,and I have no fears for the result. 
The heart of the })eople of Kansas is 
in favor of liberty and enfranchisement 
for all. (.)i.YMPiA Bkowx. 

Robinson, Kans., ^■ept. 23, 1867, 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



The St. Joseph and EI wood Bridge. 

Corifetruction of the present bridge, 
now owned by the Grand Island was be- 
gun September 2(3, J 871. The contract 
was let to the Detroit Iron & Bridge 
Company in June 1871 for ^710,000. 
'I'he bridge was erected under the super- 
vision of Engineer E. D. ^Nlason, and in 
.ianuarv. 1872, the foilovring board of 
directors was elected: W. P. Hall, \^'. 
Z. Kansome, J. D. McNeeley, Peter G. 
(Toiilisk. G. II. Koch. Dr. Robert Gumm, 
.leff Chandler, John Pinger, J. D. Bit- 
tinger, Fred W, Smith. T. B. ^VeakleY, 
R. H. Jordan, and S. P. Hyde. \V. B. 
Jt)hnson. James McCord. W. ^I.Wyeth, 
Milton 1'oolle and Louis Hax afterward 
served on the board. The tirst train 
passed over the bridge ]\Iay 20, 1873. 

The opening of the bridge was form- 
ally celebrated on May 31, 18 73, and of 
this occurrance an early histoiy of Bu- 
chanan County says: "This was beyond 
uonbt the most brilliant pageant ever 
witnessed in the city. Not only was 
every civic association and benevolent 
society represented in the vast procession, 
but the German citizens of the northwest 
had selected St. Joseph as the place for 
holding their annual Sangerfest on the 
same day. The procession which trav- 
ersed the streets of St. Joseph, was never 
equaled west of the Mississippi. Every 
trade was represented. The cooper was 
hooping barrels in his improvised shop 
on wheels, the shoemaker was pegging at 
his last, the axhandle manufacturers 
"were using their drawing knives, and 
turning out handles with the same celer- 
ity th.it marked their labors at home, 
lathes, looms, steim eagin -s, collar fac- 



tories, trunk establishments and an end- 
less variety of other trades and aj»plian- 
ces of mechanical labor, were in full 
blast, in the vast stream of human in- 
dusti-y, that moved along the streets to 
the enlivening music of six or eight brass 
bands. The procession was fully six 
miles in length and both in the novelty 
of its character and the immensity of its 
magnitude, astonished evert the people in 
whose midst the industries existed. At 
uight hundreds of Chinese lanterns il- 
luminated the structure. 

An immense amount of brilliant ora- 
Tory was set off in a bunch. Ex-Gover- 
nor Hall, Joseph Brown, tiie mayor of 
St. Louis,- Gen. James ( raig, James B. 
Eads, Jeff Chandler and Honorables I. 
S. Kallock of Leavenworth, and A. C. 
Parker spoke. 

At 3 p. m. a sumptuous banquet was 
served in Tootle &: McLaughlin's hall 
to which live lumdred guests sat down. 
Bands played during the feast. Numer- 
ous toasts were given and eloquent re- 
sponses made. The last of these was ti> 
Joseph Robidoux, the founder of Si. 
Joseph, v/hich was drunk in silence by 
all standing." 

Notwithstanding the immense impor- 
tance to St. Joseph conimerce, the bridge 
not only did not, for several years, pay 
the dividend, nor even }.ay interest on 
the $200,000 of bonds issued by the 
bridge company, and nobody protested 
when the city presented the structure to 
Jay Gould and his associates as an un- 
conditional gift. 

The 1500,(100 of city bonds have never 
been paid. They have been refurided 
from time to time, and the rate of in- 



o4 



GKAV'S DONIPHAN COUNT r HISTORY 



tei-est out down, bui the principal is still 
outstanding. Jay Gould was so short 
sightevl as to permit the bridge to be 
sold a tVw years later, to the holders of 
the bridge bonds for $5,000 ^t a fore- 
closure sale.— St. Joseph Gazette, Dec. 
•J-i. l'.»ul. 



.1 Brave Girl. 

During lt?6o. the Jayhawkers were the 
boldest :md did the greatest amount of 
mischief in the county. There was 
scareely a settler that had not had cause 
to complain of their thievishness and 
sneaking meanness. Tiie following- 
sketch, concerns the Jawhavv-kt-r known 
as Chandler, who belonged to the 
C leveland gang and who w:is killeil at 
iTcarv City, in 1803. It was prepared 
from a letter written by .an old settler. 

In August. lSo2. Ciandier in com- 
l>any with a tali red haiivd man whom he 
called •'5>andy,"'' while on their way from 
the Atchison country, to a well known 
rendesvons on V^olt" Kivcr. stopped at 
the house of G. ii. Wilton, at \\ aluut 
Grove. Wolf Kivvr township, and asketi 
for a drink of w;iter. "NVilsv-'n was not 
at home. The »>ldcst daughter sent the 
men to the well, but they soon returne*.! 
to the door and demanded that she pre- 
}>are supper for them. The girl, who 
was scarcely tiftt'cn. iuformtil them that 
her mother was sick and needed all her 
time, it being the;i about four o'clock. 
Chandler w:is tlispleased at this Turn- 
ing to his companion he said. -'Hear 
that. Sandy? Says she won't; let's mjike 
her." Sandy shook his head, .^d vising 
that they move ou; but Chandler was in 
an ugly spirit. However, after some 



argument, he consented to go on. The 
brave little woman holding fort at the 
door sent this shot after them: "Its 
well for you that you've decideii to go on. 
for you would have had a happy time 
making me get sup}>er for you." Chand- 
ler went ou his way reluctantly. "She's 
a saucy cub, isn't she'?" he growled to his 
companion as they retired. 

A short time after this the Wilson 
family were arousevi about miduight by 
hearing someone |>ounding on the door. 
Wilson. rising and going to the door, met 
Chandler and "Sandy." Chandler held 
a pistol to Wilson's face, demanding 
that he behave himself while the house 
was being searched for arms. Wilson 
protested that he had no arms in the 
house, and this was true, for .i short time 
befoi^e this his daughter, having heard 
that men were on the rounds, t;iking up 
the anus of some of the citizens, deter- 
minevi to forestall them by hiding the 
gun in an outbuilding. Chjuidler would 
not b.e satisfied with Wilson's statement 
that there were no arms in the house. 
He ordered "Sandy'* to get a roj>e. The 
rope being brought, it was thrown over 
a be,-»m of the porch, but that was as far 
as the "bluiT' was carried. At that 
moment, Emily, the brave little girl, who 
sent the men on their way without their 
supper, stood con«*ealetl Whind a door, 
with an ."ixc in her hand, ready to leap 
out and strike, when the men should be- 
gin to place the roj.>e over her father's 
head. The idea of h;uiging wa$ alv^n- 
donetl anvl Mrs. Wilson, who by this 
time arrived on the scene, w;vs ordereti 
to light the way, while the men nuade a 
search of the house. Chandler divl the 



GR-\V'S DONIPHAN v\>l'N I V UI^lOl^l 



riinuuaging, while **S;»udy" stoixl guard 
at the front door. It seems that-'Ssndy" 
did not consider it vrorth while to 
watoh Wilson, since it wa* evident he 
had no arms, and not being watcheii, 
Wilson slipj>evl out of the Ivick door. A 
ha^ty se.irx^i of the house w.^s made. 
A trnnk was broken into and robbe^i of 
its contents. On the wall a watch was 
found hanging, and that was tciken. On 
the way out. Chandler found a saddle on 
the jx>rch. which he took with him. re- 
marking that he had ridden lv»reback .*ind 
that he would borrow it for the occas- 
ion. In the meantime, Wilson had se- 
cnrtxi the ritie where his daughter had 
conoealevl it, and had hivldeu himself 
near the ri^>ad. where he boli.n-evl the 
men would pass on going away. He 
had his gun point<Hl ajid ready for 
Chandler, bu: the men, instead of com- 
ing his w.-iy, turned in the opjK>5ire di- 
rection and made tbeir escape with their 
l>Oiny. Shortly after this, when Chand- 
ler was kille^-i at Geary City, he had on 
him some of the clothes he had stolen 
from Wilson's trunk in the beilroom. 



The Shootius: of Wilson. 

The following .iccount of the shooting 
of Graudison R. Wilson, by a squad of 
soldiers of the 13th Kansas, is based on 
an account written for us by Wilson's 
oldest daughter, who. at the age of fif- 
t4?en. was an eye witness to the whole 
affair. 

Between eight and nine o'clock, on the 
morning of September 2nd 1862, Wilson 
stcuied with his team for the tield where 
he had some plowing to do. At his re- 
quest his daughter, Emily, who was at 



I the same time on her way to school, car- 
j ried to the tield for him a scythe, to l>e 
' useii to cut some wecils that were in the 
way of the plow. The girl arrived at 
j the field befv>re her father, but instead of 
'going on to school, she w.<iitet1 there 
till he came. Wils.^n l>egan to cut the 
; weeds while his daughter gathered them 
into a pile. Suddenly there was heard 
on the hill quite near them, the crack of 
; a gvin, and looking up they saw seven or 
eight men coming towaril them viown the 
hill. Wilson sjx^aking to his daughter 
cautioned her to sit down, that the men 
might not see her at work in the deld ; 
but the men were soon there. Without 
a word of warning Wilson was firerl on. 
One ball entere«i his breast near the 
, heart and he sank on the new mown 
weeiis, almost falling on the handle of 
; the scythe. On seeing her lather tall the 
girl screamtd with all her might. This 
urged the men to complete their d.astardly 
work, and, <.ibeying the leader's order, 
the men tired two or three more shots, 
which took effect, and the deoil was 
, done. The girl, who w.^ scarcely fif- 
teen, stocKi paralized with iear. When 
the men turned to go away she crept to 
her father's side, and realizing the awful 
truth, felt her heart grow sick with 
, horror. She thought to turn to the 
house for help, but .as she rose to go, 
; she saw her mother coming .across the 
! tield. Again kneeling by the pro>trat-e 
form of her father, she raiseti the hat 
that covered his face just in time to see 
j him gasp for his last breath. It was 
given out by his enemies that Wilson, 
seeing the men approaching, undertook 
to make his escape, that the leader of the 



56 



(i RAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



squad had commanded him to halt, and 
that the command, having been disre- 
garded, he was tired on. This, however, 
is not true. Wilson's body was found 
lyino- on the now mown weeds. He had 
not retreated a step, and was shot down 
without a moment of time and without 
a word of warning. The wliole alfair 
was over in a moment, and every part of 
it had been witnessed by the girl who was 
kneeling on the pile of weeds only a few 
yards away. 

\\ lien Mrs. Wilson arrived on the 
K-ene she was helj>less with grief. There 
was no one near to render her assistance; 
but her daughter, young but brave, aris- 
ing to the emergency, faced the situation 
and found a way out of the distress. 
IShe unhitched the horses from tlie ])l()w, 
and pulling the h;irncss off one of them, 
got a saddle at ihe house and rode away 
to the scliool on Wolf Rivor to seek the 
i.id of Joseph ii8 L'tt, the teacher, who 
was her fathers iuLiiuate friend, and to 
bring her littK l>rother and sister home 
from school. At the river she found 
li"r father's s!:i^«.ts seated under the trees 
near the place where she had to cross. 
Tlie men recognized her at once and fled, 
fearing to face the gentle courage of a 
mere girl. whom they had made an 
orphan in that hour. 



The Boys of Kansas. 

(Extracts from an address by the lion- 
able Daniel Webster Wilder, at Wath- 
ena, Kansas, July 4, 1884.) 

"Members of the Grand Army, Old 
Friends and Neighbors:— Your invita- 
tion forme to join you here was received 
with genuine pleasure. You knew that 



I was not an orator, that I should have 
to write and read what I said, but you 
asked me to come as an old friend and 
citizen— one of the boys of the old days, 
when W^ashington Township was yet 
young, and you and I, now gray haired 
men in spectacles, were also young. The 
glasses we used then were not to look 
through but— for some other pur})ose, 
that the prohibitionist, Andrew Disque, 
might explain. 

"•Kelson Abbey, of this township, 
used to say that he preferred Kansas. 
He said that there was good water here; 
good to "wash with; you did not have to 
put ashes into it. Nelson Abbey, 
Heaven rest his soull W^hat fun we boys 
did have in those days! One summer 
day in '58 or '59 a lively party of Free 
State 1 oys came up from Ticavenworth. 
They came on a steamboat and sto])ped 
at El wood. Nelson Abbey was there 
and full of glee. In ten minutes all were 
intimately acquainted. They fraternized. 
A journey was proposed to Troy, and a 
dozen boys trotted ofl:. Abbey leading 
the way. Along the road made by Arnet 
(jrrooms, through Wathena, along Peters 
Creek, past Small wood's and Widow 
Thompson's, and a half a dozen houses 
on the ro.ad, galloped this merry party. 
It was a stream of laughter and jokes 
from the river to the County seat. Ar- 
rived there, they went to the little shop 
on the east side, where eatables were sold. 
Abbey called for pies, and the ordinary 
^\merican and Kansas pie was produced. 
•'^Yhat, round pies," said Abbey, "Great 
God! do you expect us to eat round pies? 
Make a dozen square pies." And he led 
the procession out of the shop. All 



GRAY'8 DONIPHAX COU^■TY HISTORY 



57 



waited on the high jmiiiie 'til the ivquare 
pies weie made and cooked; and then 
they were eaten. Every man in the 
]iarty wonhl liave starved rather than 
eaten a round \ne. after their leader, 
Abbey Nelson, in a momentary and 
whimsical edict, had declared that the 
only straight out Free State and Black 
Republican [>ie was a square pie. ''Of 
course. sq;i:U'e pies,'' they all roared and 
yelled. "''vVho ever lieard. of a Free 
State man eating a round pie?'' A.nd | 
Abbey Nelson and his square pies were 
never forgotten by any '.i-.an who was 
there that day. The stor\ went all over | 
the territory. 

••The greatest man that ever set foot 
on this Township, arrived here on the 
first day of December, 1859, to warm the 
beautiful day. The late Judge Dehihey 
and I met him at the depot in St. Joseph 
that day, and rode up town with him; 
look him to a barber shop on Francis 
srtreet, and 1 went up to \\ oodworth's 
news stand in the next block, and bought 
him the latest papers. Tluii the three 
v\ ent down to the ferry landing, near the 
old Kobidoux building, and sat down in 
the dirt on the banks, wailing for C'apt. 
Ulackiston's boat. As we sat there I re- 
member being impressed with the won- 
derful length of Mr. Linocdu's legs. 
They were legs that could fold up; the 
knees stood up like that high and 
bind i)oint of the Kansas grasshopper. 
He wore a hat of the stovepipe shape, 
but made of felt, unglazed, not shiny, 
and needing no brush. The buttons 
were off his shirt, as I had noticed 
them the summer before, when, bv a 
lucky accident. 1 spent several days in 



the law othce of Lincoln tt llerndon in 
Springtield. 

••Mr. Lincoln made a speech that 
evening at the Great Western hotel, in 
the dining room, a very great speech, to 
an audience called together by a uian 
who went through the town sounding a 
gong. The next day, December 2, the 
day on which John Bro-vvn was hanged, 
he spoke at Troy, and 1 think Colonel 
Ege replied to him, and fully vanquished 
the future president. He also spoke in 
Asahel J^ow's hotel in Doniphan, and 
that completes the great man's connec- 
tions with this county. 

••Another event Will always give this 
Township and County historical interest. 
On March 20, l«6u. the first railroad iron 
received in Kansas came here, and track 
laying was ci.iJi.menced on the Elwood & 
Marysville railroad. On Monday, Apiil 
28, IStiO, tlie locomotive "Albany" was 
placed on his track. M. Jeli" Thompson, 
Willard P. Hall arid Governor R. M. 
Stewart, the great men of St. Joseph, 
made speeches on that occasion. On the 
19th of July, 1860, (twenty-four yeart< 
ago) the completion oi the railroad 
from Elwood to Wathena was cele- 
brated. 1 recollect having made 
a brief speech hereon that day. I think 
ii was at the April juilitication, -t^nd not 
in July, that Harmon Hunt in the excess 
of peasantry and patriotism knocked 
Jeff Thompson down. It was a •'big 
hit"' for this side of the river, and greatly 
added to the local renown of the quiet 
printer who struck the blow. 

"It was from this Township that the 
Doy rescuers departed on the night of 
July 23, 1856. ltd l)y Jo'in Tracy. 



58 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



"The first rebel flag ever captured by 
Kansas soldiers was taken from latan, 
Missouri, June 3, 1861, by a party of 
twelve soldiers of the First Kansas, then 
in camp at Fort Leavenworth. Seven of 
the soldiers were members of the El- 
wood Guards company of this Township. 
Sergeant Frank Drenuing demanded the 
lowering of the flag '"In the Name of 
Abraham Lincoln and the Congress of the 
United States." That trophy is now in 
possession of the State Historical Society. 

"It was Thomas Merrick, a citizen of 
this township, who captured the first 
Rebel flag raised in St. Joseph. It was 
brought over here and burned. 

Let us reverently and devoutly thank 
<Tod that our lot has been cast in this 
fair land, even in Kansas, the best of all 
states because the most tolerant, kindly, 
brotherly; and let us trust tliat even we 
have done something in our day lo make 
our tOAvn, county antl state better worth 
living in.*" 

Mr. Wilder closed his remarks by pay- 
ing a glowing tribute to the worth and 
nobility of character, of Judge Nathan 
Price, quoting at the end the last verse of 
tlie Judge's favorite poem "The Chem- 
ist rv of Charscter." 



Preliistorie Race. 

Relics of a lost race have been found at 
Eagle Springs, in this County, buried 
from four to eight feet under the ground. 
Enough has been discovered at these 
Springs, to show that there was once a 
city there, which, like Herculaneum and 
Pompeii, has been overthrown, and cov- 
ered up by the accumulating rubbish of 
ages. 

"In excavating for an icehouse there 
were found four different places where 



fires had been kept burning for a long 
time as the earth underneath was burnt 
red as a brick for some distance down, 
and scattered all around were broken 
pottery, bones, shells, arrow-points, and 
other evidences of the place having once 
been tlie abode of man. This place is 
some six or eight feet under the ground, 
and on top of the ground over it, there 
has grown a large burr-oak tree which 
was blown down, perhaps before the 
country was settled, and is all' decayed 
now, except some of the largest roots rmd 
a small portion of the body. Thus far 
there has been no metal instrument of 
any kind found, that has been use<l b\ 
the race of men who once trod these hilis 
and valleys, nor has there been a single 
bone of any domestic animal found, which 
shows that their earthly possessions 
must have been very limited, and of the 
most primitive character. The flint ar- 
row points, the stone axe, and a few 
pieces of rude pottery, seem to have con- 
stituted the sum total of their effects. 
The motive that prompted the selection 
of this lo(vality as a placp of abode mai->t 
have been the healthful waters of these 
springs. The probability that the very 
place from which I write was once the 
home of a race of men of whom we have 
no record in history, fills the mind with 
many interesting and curious thoughts. 
Could we cal back to this, their once 
peaceful and happy home and habitation, 
those strange people, whose rect>rd is 
sealed up in the great unwritten history 
of the past, what strange stories they 
could tell, and with Avhat amusement 
they would view the changed conditions 
of their surroundings."'— Extract from an 
article by Pryor JMank, published May 3, 
1883. 



CHAPTER YI. 



rsH SKeTCHSS, eTc. 



(CoNTIXVED. 



MELVIN BAIGHX. 

(Exeouteii for murder :it Seneca, Septem- 
ber 18. 186S.) 

This has been a day ot unusual inter- 
est iu the history and events of our 
County, in as much as we have witnessed 
the execution of the law on the person 
of Melvin Baughn, who was convicted of 
nmrder and sentenced to suffer death ac- 
cording to the law. at a special term of 
the District Court of this County held 
iu August last. 

1 lake the opj ortunity of giving you a 
few items concerning his execution and 
previous life, as I have been able to gather 
them up to the present writing. The 
prisoner steadfastly refused to make any 
general confession, although urged to do 
so by his ministerial advisors, as a 
Christian duty he oweii to hi< fellow men. 
He said he did not know anything that 
he thought would do any good to any- 
body, redeem ~ anyone from crime, or 
stop the schemes of wicked men. What 
he might say might implicate respect- 
able men, who stood high in society, and 
were surrounded bv interesting: families. 



and with sonie with whom he was not 
acquainted, and of whose guilt he was not 
assured of. except by hearsay; and if it 
was necessary to do that in order to save 
his soul, he would have to run the risk. 
He was born in Virginia and at the 
time of his death was thirty two years 
old. He stated that at the age of four- 
teen he was left an orphan, and soon af- 
ter obtained a situation as bartender in 
Franklin. Tennessee, where he became a 
favorite among bis companions. Being a 
bright, dashing youth, the attention of 
sporting men was directed toward him by 
noticing the skill with wTiich he managed 
and the agility with which he rode a 
spirited mare which he borrowed from a 
neighbor for the purpose of riding to and 
from the races, which were frequent in 
that vicinity. He afterwards became a 
professional horse trainer, which was 
more or less his business through life. 
He finally joined a company of horse 
racers who were travelling, making that 
their business. On reaching Indepen- 
dence. Missouri, be left his company, 
and obtained a job of a neighboring 



60 



GRAY'S DDNIPHAN (. OINTY HISTORY 



largt' farmor. in tho oapaoity of hostler, i robbors aiui uuirderer*. After projit>- 
for the purjH^se of superintending aud outing this business for a time, he w*j 
training his horses. He remained there j suspieioneii by parties near St. Josep'i 
a vear. spoke verv favorably of his em- of having stolen some horses. They, 
ployer, and regretted, with muoh feeling, i hearing of him. with three other |hm-- 
t hat he did not remain there. After] sons going west with horses supposi^ni 



leaving his situation near ludepeudenoe, 
he came to Kansas, where he rtveiveii 



to bo theirs, obtaineil a warrant and pur- 
sueii them. On reaching this place they 



employment with the Overland Trans- ascertained that Haughn and his compan- 
portation Company as jK>ny express rider, ions had prtveded them but a short di<- 



^Vhile thus ensjaijeii he admitted to have 



dance. Thev then sought and obtained 



killed a man by the name of Flooii. near another warrant, and the aid of the 
Big Sandy, in an altercation. At the sheriff of this county with his pi»sse, and 
conclusion of his term of service with this ' pursueil them. After pursuing thera 
comp,any. they were indebttni to him about lo miles, they found that Baughn 
about soOO, but the company faiknl alK>ut ! and his party had passeii this place gi^ 
this time, and he only receiveil a small ; iug east, about daylight, and aK-ut an 
amount due him. Thus l>eing in embar- hour in advance of the sheritT and lu^i 
rassed circumstances, he was induceii to posse. They stopper! a short time at a 
become a jayhawker. to relieve his peca- 1 friend's of theirs in town, who informed 
niarv necessities. As respei'table men them that a mob was in pursuit of them, 
were engag^^l in that moveu»ent, which ' Baughn and Mooney. and one of their 
was a general one at the time of the lH>r- partners then left the wagon which thev 
der war. he thought it legitimate busi- wert^ with and procotdtnl on foot, 
jiess, under the circumstances. While Jackson and Strange, the other two. 
in prosei^>ution of this he was arretted for! were arreste<l, taken to Doniphan C ounty 
the same in Missouri, tried, convictixi ; and trie<l. but were releastni, as the 
and sentenced to the j>euiteutiarY for ten : horses which they had did not pn>ve to 
years. ^Vhile thus incarcerated, he was j be those which they were in pursuit of. 
thrown into the society of old and hard- The posse and the sheritT then proi.'eetie*! 
ened criminals, from whose lij>s he , in pursuit of Baughn and ]M».K>uey. Ac- 
learned many of the ways of wickeiluess, ! ter pursuing them some fifteen miles, 
and whose intliieuce upon him. he sjiys, they were discovered by the .advance 
very n\uch furihert\i him in the course of guard. fo\ir in number, who immeiiiately 
crime. rode up to them and told them that they 

After serving two years and thn.v came to arrest them. Baughn and 
months he was ivardoneil bv the Gover-Moonev immeiliatclv commenced tirinir 
nor. I'pon his release he ivturned to i uprni the party, which rt^sulteti m the 
St. Joseph and vicinity, where he l>e- killing of IVnuis. and severely wound- 
came the comp.anion of dissolute men. ing Hillis, two of the .advance guan.ls. 
and l>ecame connet'te^i with a band of The Hre w.as u^turn<,vl bv the v:;-uard re- 



li KAY'S 1K)N1PHAN l\>l >sTY KISTOKY 



61 



suiting in the tract urir.g of Baughn's 
right arm aiid one of Mooneyes legs. 
They both esoa|^>e<l. This was in Nov- 
tmWr, ISctt. AlH>nt the tir^t of January 
following. Baughn was arrest e^l in 
Leavenworth oity, by Otfi'er iH*ott and 
the Leavenworth poliee fon.'e, and deliv- 
t retl to the authorities of this eouuty. 
He remaineil in jail at this platv about 
two mouths when he alTeeted his esoaj^)e. 
5H>on after, he, with others of his eoui- 
^«auions, v^s^neo<'teii and oarrieil into exe- 
cution the plan to rob the store of Mr. 
Craig of Wathena. His share of the 
proeeetts. he stated was #800. 

With this he went to Si, Louis and 
ft 11 iu with a uiiuiber of the "fast boys^** 
:\nd before he was aware his means was 
eipeude^l. He then plauueil and raiseil 
another '"sight," with the proceeds of 
w!\ich he returned to his Teunesse home. 

He gt»ve no farther account of him- 
self until he was arrested on suspicion, 
at Seilalia, Missouri. He went to the 
express otKce there and iuquireil for a 
car|.>et btig t>elonging to Jo King (he 
went by that name at the time.) He was 
iutWmeii that theie was one there for 
that person, but did not take it away. 
This created some suspicion ou the jtart 
of the express agent, who. thinking he 
might return after dark, left the window 
a little raiseil and remaineil to watch for 
him. Sometime during the night he re- 
turned, put his head within the window 
and lit a match, w hen he was ordered to 
stand. Failing to do so he was tired 
u|.>on, the shot taking effect in the upper 
part of his head, and carrying awav one 
f.nger from the hand in which he held 
the match. 



He made his escajv but was arrestevl 
two days after, and lotiged in jail at 
Warrensburg. On the 2oth of June last, 
Mr. Kyger of this county, visited him 
for the purpose of identifying him as 

' Baaghn, he having a requisition from the 
governor of this state for his delivery to 

! the authorities of the countv. Hetirmlv 
declareil to Kytjer that his name was 
Bigger, and that he had never been in 

} >vema.ba county, or even in Kansas. 

! Sheriff Kyger, however, having su^c- 
ieut evidence with him, that he was 

! Baughn, brought him to this county, 

i where he was duly tried and found guilty 
of munler, as Wfore statevi. 

During his imprisonment in the 
county jail, he had been visiteii frequently 
by Kev. \V. C Stewart, {:»astor of the 
Congregational church and Rev. Gray of 
the M. E- church, whose counsels and 
prayers he ever received res|>ectfully and 
affectionately. He was very accessible 
to religious conversation, although it 
seemeil to be inliueuced by the character 
and conversation of those who were wnth 
him, and would frequently indulge in 
jocular conversation with s^»irit. On the 

I evening before his execution he was vis- 
ited by Revs. Stewart and Gray, with 

I whom he converseil freely, and seemed 
calm and self-possessed. He retireii 

' about 12 o'clock, and slept as comj^H>sedly 
as usual. He ate his breakfast with 
somewhat less relish than usual; still hi$ 
general being was self-<'ontaineii. He 
was supplieil with suitable apparel of 
black alpaca, pleated bosom shirt, white 
stockings and slip[.>ers, and he made his 
toilet calmly. He passed the morning 
hours in pleasant conversation with Mr. 



63 



GRAY> DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



McLain of Savanuah. Mo., and his miu- 
isterial advisers. Singular to state, 
none of the old companions or friends 
have l>een near him, except one, who at 
the request of Baughu, came to take 
charge of the body, to remove it to 
Doniphan county. During the hour 
preceding that in which he w:vs executed, 
he was visiteil in the cell by Hon. Geo. 
Gniliam and Judge Lanham, of Seneca, 
both of whom pmyed with him. At the 
request of Rev. Gn^y, Baughn led in 
audible prayer. His prayer was author- 
ized by simplicity, earnestness and ap- 
preciation of his condition. Among 
other petitions he prayeil that if he was 
not prepared to die he might be made 
fullv so. His uu\nner and language 
seemeii to indicate a cheerful couddtnce 
in Christ. The gallows wei-e erected 
near the jail door, an enclosure of can- 
vas surrounding it. Outside of the 
tanvas was a rope inclosure guarded by 
tifteen armed men. None but those in- 
vittnl by the sheriff were admitted with- 
in either enclosure. Among those in- 
viteti were Mr. MtLain of ^lissouri. sev- 
eral prominent citizens of the county of- 
ticcrs of court, two physicians, two min- 
isters and representatives of the press. 
The outside enclosure was surrounded by 
over »Mic hundreil people, who were en- 
abled to gratify their curiosity by the 
occasional glimpse of Baughn, as he 
stood on the trap door, awaiting the 
final preparations of the sheriff. 

At ten minutes past three the prisoner 
was KhI out by the sheriff, and ascended 
the scaffold with a tirm step, the only 
sign of fear or affectation Wing when he 
steppeil from the jail door in sight of the 



gallows. He said almost audibly, --It's 
Hither rough." As he came out of the 
jail door he handed to the Reverend Stew- 
art and Sheriff Kyger, a document in 
I his own handwriting of which the follow- 
ing is a copy : 

A Few Worus From the Jail. — As 
the hour of my approaching doom draws 
near, I feel it my duty to say a few words 
■ ere I depart from this world of wickeil- 
, nests and sin. I have but a few houi"* to 
i live, and yet I cannot say that I feel any 
desire to prolong the time. I have en- 
deavored to make peace with God. I have 
prayed to him night and day. and I feel 

and believe that mv pnivers have been 
i . I . 

i heard and answered. It seems hard it is 
; true, to die an ignominious death on the 
' gallows. But I believe I will be better 

off, for I have had but little comfort the 
i last few years of my life. Therefore I 
; feel resignetl to my fate, and feel that I 

am fully preparcvl to meet it. I ft-el in a 

ofrejit measure that I am indebted to 
! Revs. Stewart and Gray for my reconcil- 
I iation to God, and I am very thankful 

for the kindness ^shown me by the rever- 
! end gvntlemen; and I hope they may 
j never be cjilleil upon to minister unto a 

I human beiuix placeil in mv unfortunate 

i _ ' 

1 condition. I can never repay their kind- 
ness, but if the prayers of a penitent 
sinner ever avails anything, they have 
mine for their future welfare. ^Ir. 
Stewart. I would be thankful to have 
you write to my wife after my death; let 
her know how I diet!, and try to console 
her in her hour of attiiction. 

To the Sheriff of Nemaha County: 
\Vhcn 1 arrived here in June l:K«it in 
charire of the sheriff of Nemaha (. ountv. 



uRAVS noNirilAN rorNTV liiMOKV. 



63 



1 e\[K\'ttHl tv> go in the haiuls of a mob. . 
notwithstamlinir that <;heriff A. Kygor ' 
e!:q.. had repoatotlly assuivii me that I 1 
shouUi not 1m? taken out of his hands l>y ; 
either friend or foe. except over hi;? dead ' 
Ixniy. But of that I doubted his ability 
to do all he had promised, as regarde^l i 
protecting me by the violence of the mob! 
knowing :vs I did the blood-thirsty dis- ! 
position of a nun\Wr of citizens of this 
county, and I feel conrident that it is! 
only owing to the determineti resolution 
to guard and protect me from mobocracy ' 
that I have today, to pen these lines. ■ 
While the sheriiTha^i usevl his every en- i 
<leavor to protect me from mc>bocracy, 
he has not, to my knowledge, iu any in- 
stance, violated the law. but has. I be- 
lieve, obeyeil it to the letter. He has 
never sho%vn that venomous disposition to ' 
tyrtuinize over me. as a large num\>er in 
this community have l>eeii disposed to do. 
Hut 1 freely and cheerfully forgive them 
all. and credit their ill-feeling to igaor- • 
ance and bad whiskey. As I have be- ' 
fore said. Mr. Kyger has never --bown a ' 
disposition to tyrannize over lue. but ; 
has. I believe, tiseil his every endeavor to : 
alleviate my sufferings, by gratifying 
my every want. His son. Samuel, who [ 
has l)een with me most of the time since 
my trial, while he has done his duty as ^ 
au otlicer of the law. and guardeii against 
an escape, and ain^inst the violence of a ' 
mob. who were ever howling for blood. | 
has treateii me with human kindness. 
And now as my earthly sphere (career:) 
is dn\wing to a close. I would express my 
thanks for the kindness received at the 
hands of these gentlemen. , 

E. M.Baighn. 



Being seated on the scaffold with the 
sheriff. Rev. Stewart offered a pniver. 
He then bade farewell to the minister 
and others who came forward to give 
him the parting hand. The sheriff then 
proceeded to pinion his hands and fet^t. 
and to adjust tlie fatal noose around his 
neck. Tile cap rommonly used on such 
occasions wa-* then placed over his head 
but not Cv)vering his eyes, an opportunitv 
was given him to make any remark he 
might desire. Without the slightest 
tremulousness in his voice but with tears 
in his eyes, he j.roceeded to say. -I be- 
lieve it is customary for pei*sons i;i mv 
yK>sition to have sometliingto sav. With 
me it is different. I have nothing. 1 
have been arraigaeil, trie<l and convicted, 
and I am heiv to suffer the penalty of the 
law. That is all." The death warnint 
was then read to him by the sheriff iu 
clear, firm tones. The cap wa** then 
drawn over his eyes. The sheriff then 
ascended the scaffold and in clear tone 
said, -'Melvin Baughu. you have just 
live minutes to live." Presestlv he said, 
'•You have just two and a half minutes 
to live." The seconds passed i-apidly 
until the sheriff ealleii the third time, 
••Melvin Ba^ighn, yoa have just one min- 
ute to live." A moment more and the 
rope was cut and the trap door fell, and 
Melvin Baughn was snspendeil Wtween 
heaven and earth, a sj>ecta4^ile of pity and 
shame. The neck ■vraj; not broken by 
the fall, but death was the result of 
strangulation. His death struggles were 
not severe. The body, enfeebled by 
wounds ar>d sickness yielded quickly to 
the power of death. The pulse ceasetl to 
beat in seven minut<"«. and the heart in 



64 



GRAYS OONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



nine. The body reuvained sus[>encled ou the authority of the Chief and letters 
about twenty-seven niinute^s. The phy- of pioneers in our possession, 
sioiaus, having decUinxl life extinct,; In 1S62 orlS63, George Bennett, who 
the bo3y was out down, hands and feet , recently had l>een county assessor, turneii 
unpinioned. and then deposited in the . his jfttentiou to Jayhawking. but he was 
jail where many gathered around to ' soon caught and hangeii at Elwood. 
view the hust remains. The Kxiy re- Chandler, a notevl .Layhawk leader af- 
mained in the jail until the following, ter many successful n^ids, was shot and 
dav, when it was removeil bv the friend killed at Gearv Citv in the fall oi 1S62. 



l>efore incideutallv alluded to. 



Ch.audler had won the hatred of .all the 



Thus died an ignominious death on | good citizens of the county, who re- 
the gallows.a voung m.%n |K>ssessing some! joiced st his taking off. An account of 
remarkable qualities, which would have ' some of his oj>erations is given in another 
no doubl made him, under the proj^er part of this book. ^ 

siystem of etiucatiou. and v,ith right The Chief, in it* a^xHiunt of the kill- 
principles, a great, good and useful man. i^g of the Jayhawkers Ridley and White- 
Among other peculiarities of his mind, head savs: "In the winter of lS6:>-8, 
he w:is possessed of a sing:ilar s;^g:uity t^vo Jayhawkers who went by the nick- 
and knowledge of human nature. Never naiiies of Bob Ridley and Whitehead, 
embarassed. he appreciateil to the fullest ^vere killed at Troy. One wa* shot in 
extent, the character and ] osition of | the saloon that stood where the Chief 
those with whom he came in cont.act. office now is. by Isjwc Tallman. The 
But courage of the highesi order was the other was killetl by William V^'anier, in 
greatest i>eculiaritv of E>aus?hn's charac- the door of the old citv hotel, as he was 
ter. He knew not what fear w.^^!. I learn : raisinir his pistol to shoot Warner, 
from Rev. Stewart th.at he h;tj< no doubt These Jayhawkers had gone to Tallman's 
from what he saw of him during his im- , house at Cottonwood Springs. southe;v<t 
prisonment and last hours, that he was a ot Trov. during Tallman's absence, and 
truly penitent and forgiven man. ] in spite of the jtrotestations of his wife. 

I have thus given you the f.acts in re- j hatl taken and carried away pro^vrty 
lation to Baughi-. a.< 1 have been able to that had been left in his care. Tiie two 
gather them. Yon will j>ercoive that it ' men were buritni in the graveyard of the 
is but a small portion of his life which j old Cumberhand Presbvteri:ui chuivh. 



he rev eaUHl; and no doubt that ^v^rt kept 
back woxild have Ihvu much more inter- 
esting and also revealcil a largv amount 
of crime. T. W. T. 



beyond Wolf river near Baynes's bridge.'" 
There is an error in the above. White- 
head did not die at Troy, whert^ he was 
shot: neither w:i«; he buritnl in the Pre*- 

byterian graveyard near Bayne's bridgv. 

The Kate of the Jayhawkers. j After the shooting in Troy, on .lanuar\ 

The following accounts of the killing j ^Oth 1S0:>. he w:vs put upon a sKd and 

and hanging of Jayhawkers are preparcvl ^ brougt to Cold Spritig-s. in Wolf River 



GKAV'S lH>NirilAN COUMV llij^lOHV. 



^ 



toxrniJhip, whott^ he wa* cirtni for until 
his death three weeks later, and wa* bur- 
ievl in the oUl Wooers ijnivex'aril, whicli 
is hvat^nl four and a half miles almost 
due west of Troy, where his arnive is 
niarkeri with a rude limestone slab. 

One niijht in Mareh. lS6;i. a small 
iraniT of JavhaAvkers went to the home of 
Frank Brown, in Iowa Point, and be^iu 
to tenx>rize the family by shooting 
thn>uirh the winvlv>vvs of the house, the 
bullets j^^assinfiT over the beii ocoupieri by 
his wife and chiKlnn. Btx>wn siejceii a 
revolver and returneti the t^^re. hirting 
and instantly killing Charley Pit<'her. 
one of the g^mg. The others fiod im- 
merliately. It is said that the objeet of 
the gang wsis to kill Brown who had been 
aoouseii of helping in the return of es- 
eapeii slaves to Missouri. 

From the manuscript of a pioneer who 
kept close watoh on the happenings in 
tlie early days, we give the following 
ovmeeruing the hanging of three men at 
Highland, in lSt>o: 

Some horses h.ad l>een stolen in the vi- 
cinity of Highland, and a jx>sse of men 
was fonueii for the capture of the 
thieves. Three men were found in ].h>s- 
session of the horsesu An angry mob 
coit\pv>sed of men from nearly all parts of 
the ci>unty thirsted for vengeance. Hav- 
ing l>een found in posse^y^ion of the 
stolen animals seemevl in the judgment 
ment of many, ample proof of the guilt 
of the men; but the affair w.as conducte<l 
with undue h.iste, and the proceedings 
lackeil the sanction of many c<.h>1 headed 
men in the crowd who w:uit^i to be 
reasonably certain of the men's guilt be- 
fo-re hanorinsr them. However, the hot 



blooil h.\d its rule and the men were un- 
ct>remoniously hangeil from the limb of a 

jbig tree near the town. After the hang- 
ing there w^is much diss;»tisfaction, es- 

■ pecially on acix>unt of there Iving great 

j doubt of the guilt of one of the men who 
was scarcely out v>f his teen. This 
young man had told a plausible story 
explaining how he came to Ih> with the 
other men, but his words had fallen on 
de,^f e.ars, auvi his pleadings for time and 
an opjH>rtunity to prove his innocence 
had been in vain. Acconling to the 
young man's account, he had met the 
two men on horsebiV'k leading another 
horse. They h.^i offeree! to 4et hiin 
ride, anvl he had acoeptetl the offer, 
never suspecting tl»at the men were 
thieves and the animals stolen ones. To 
a syiupat hi7.er he gave the name ,and ad- 
dress of his father, asking that he Iv in- 
formeti of his fate. After the hanging 
the young man's father came from Hli- 
nois and proiiuced a letter from his son 
(the dead man) in which the son had 

[ written that he should soon be home, 

i Further inquiry disclose*! the fact that 
the young man was; of good character, 
and the lasst doubt of his innocence was 
dispelled. The brokenhearted! father 
had the remains of his son removed from 
the dishonorer! grave and sent back to 

' his home. 

! James Pickett, who. during the war, 
had operated as a '*det<H"tive"in Missouri, 
headed a band of men in the pursuit of 
a thief who had stolen a horse from A. 
C. Xott, near ^Yhite Cloud, in April, 

1 1865. The thief was captured near Iowa 
Point, at the home of a man nameii 
Powell, and being promise*! a fair trial 



66 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



by the men, he revealed the place where 
the horse had been hidden. With the 
thief in charge, Pickett's men returned to 
Nott'8, arriving late in the evening in 
time for supper. After supper when it 
was quite dark, the men started toward 
White Cloud with their man. A short 
distance from town the man was shot to 
death and his body left lying in the road. 
Pickett, who is said to have iired the lirst 
shot, was tried for murder, but was ac- 
quitted, the feeling against horsethieves 
being too strong to convict a man for 
killing one, even in so cowardly a man- 
ner. 



A Picture of Old Doiiipliaii rity. 

(Id68) 

No matter how insignificant a place 
may be, it has a history which is often 
interesting; and when once placed before 
the people, in the shape of reminiscence, 
people wonder it" it is possible that tliey 
ever passed througli so many strange and 
various scenes. Nature is grand but 
when art groups up so many familiar 
scenes, they assume a paradisiacal appear- 
ance. So with every life. While it re- 
mains strewn along a length of fifteen or 
twenty years, it seems but commonplace; 
but when huddled up into one or two 
articles, it changes and brings before us 
scenes we have almost or quite forgotten. 

Doniphan is situated on tlie west bank 
of the Missouri river, in the extreme 
southeastern corner of Doniphan county. 
The site is a beautiful valley, opening 
on the river, and extending north over 
one and a half miles on the high, rolling 
prairie, and east and west a half a mile, 
covering beautifully sloping ridges on 



either side. A clear and beautiful 
stream, formed by numerous streams, 
gushing from the hills at the north end 
of the valley, flows through its centre, 
and pours its waters into the river. 
Here, let me say, that in 1867, my tirst 
arrival in this County, this small stream 
spread over the bottom of the land, form- 
ing quite a marsh, but it now has a deep 
bed in which it flows— having washed the 
light allnvial soil to the depth of some 
twenty feet, and runs back from the 
river several hundred yards. Near the 
old "Lane Mill'' site, now occupied by 
Brenner's corn house and sheller, the 
stream forms a miniature Niagara Falls. 
The blufts east of town enfringe on the 
river; that on the west side overlook a 
beautiful alluvial bottom, containing sev- 
eral hundred acres of land of vast ric!i- 
ness. The town site was originally 
prairie, but j)art is noAV covered with a 
young growth of timber. The tirst house 
was built and occupied as an Indian trad- 
ing post by J. F. Foreman. It was situated 
at the south east corner of the present 
townsite, near the river. This house, 
which was built of cotton wood logs, be- 
came the nucleus of the "city" of Doni- 
phan. In this old house the tirst territor- 
ial election ever held in this part of the 
territory, took ])lace in tlie fall of 18o5. 
to elect representatives to the territorial 
legislature. At the election the "sovi'r- 
eigns" came flocking to the polls, armed 
with every kind of death-dealing imple- 
ment. Some carried their arms all day. 
while others concealed them under the 
old house, so that they could be caught 
up at any moment's warning. Some 
came over from the state of Missouri to 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HIbTOliV. 



67 



vote, which caused those on this side to 
arm, to prevent such a breach of right 
and to protect themselves in the act of 
voting. 'Die day passed very quietly. 

In 1854-5 the "Kansas fever" ran high 
and emigrants, spectators and adventurers 
came rushing in— some to settle and make 
homes, some to speculate on lands and 
"city property," and others to procure 
office, and to save the territory from the 
grasp of the "peculiar institution'" and 
still others to fix her hold on her. Take 
it all in all, the population of early days 
was a rather mixed concern. 

C^ity property was in great demand; 
although there were many "cities'" yet 
there was not enough to supply tlie de- 
mand for corner lots, and the idea of 
starting a new city entered the minds of 
the settlers of this part of tlie territory; 
and consequently a company was organ- 
ized sometime in 1855, and a charter 
granted in the same year— soon after 
which a city election was held, and 
Mayor, Councilmen, etc., were duly in- 
stalled. I believe three elections were 
held under this charter— the last one be- 
ing in 185 7, the cliarter being forieited 
by failure to elect under its provisions. 

In 1857, the council passed an ordin- 
ance to grade several streets and adver- 
tised for proposals to do the work, issu- 
ing "city script" to pay the same. The 
work was done, and now traces can be 
seen of the work performed, and, I pre- 
sume, some of the purchasers of the 
script could show you other traces of the 
order. But at that time we all thought 
them equal to gold. But, alas, for 
human foresight! 

Sometime in 1857, the Land Office was 



located in this placi' aiid tliis brought to 
our town scores of speculators, lawyers, 
sharpers, etc. In the meantime, Doni- 
phan had grown to quite a town, and 
everyone that could, put up a house for 
rent or sale, and sales were made at enor- 
mous figures. JVIoney was plenty and 
gambling was carried on on a heavy 
scale. These houses were situated in the 
bottoms, in the south part of town, and 
so notorous became tlie place that it was 
dubbed "Doniphan uiider the hill," after 
"Natchez on the liill." Most of those 
old houses have been locked up, and it 
l>resents but sorry remains of its former 
greatness. As I said before the former 
town had grown to some importance; the 
lawyers' offices were tbick; agencies were 
in every corner; stores, groceries and 
saloons appeared ; almost every other 
hmise was a boarding house, and yet not 
enough to supply the wants of the pop- 
ulation. 

The first regular store opened at that 
place was by A. R. Forman, now dead, 
lie did a very heavy business. The 
second was by Mr. A. Brenner, who is 
still a citizen of the town. ' These two 
stores were situated near the hotel, and on 
main street. They have both been taken 
down and removed. There were also 
several other store buildings but they 
have also been removed. 

The first newspaper started in this 
place was the Constitutionalist, published 
by T. J. Key. The office was in a two 
story brick building on the bank of the 
river, above where the warehouse now 
stands. Owing to the washing of the 
river the foundation was destroyed, and 
the house fell. At one of our elections 



68 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNT V HlSrOKY 



the paper was suspended, R. S. Kelly, 
then a candidate for senator fi*oiu Atch- 
ison and Doniphan counties, being a 
printer, wished to issue an address to the 
"sovereigns, "representing his chiinis, etc. 
We were asked to assist him on this 
work, and did so, but on going into the 
office found him with a large revolver 
strapped to his side. He explained that 
it was necessary to be armed, as threats 
had been made to tear down the office 
and throw it into the river. These 
threats were never put into execution but 
the institution ceased to exist, in Doni- 
phan, in a very short time. The press 
and material were removed to Iowa 
Point, an<i subsequently to Troy and 
were tinally taken to Hiawatha, where 
they were destroyed by tire in the begin- 
ning of the year, 1862. 

The second paper was established here 
bv James Red path, called -"The Crusader 
of Freedom," and under the patronage of 
J. H. Lane. It was to have been a pic- 
torial, but it never delighted the eyes of 
its readers a singk^ cut, except when it 
quarreled with Mr. Lane, and then he 
cut on it; and after a few articles exj os- 
ing Lane, as it is said, it, too, followed 
its predecessor. It was published in a 
room now occupied as a drug store. 
The material was taken to Atchison dur- 
ing the early years of the war, to print 
a Democratic paper called the Atchison 
Union. I do not know what afterwards 
became of it. It was a spicy little sheet 
and deserved better success. 

The third [>aper Avas brought here by 
Mr. Reese in 1858 and was called the 
Doniphan Post. Mr. Reese was quite 
aged and soon after its establishment he 



died. The paper still continued to be 
published by his son, George Reese for 
some time. But with all the energy he 
had he could not keep it above water, 
and it, too, sank under the waves of ad- 
versity in 1860. 

George Reese is in St. Joseph as local, 
I believe, on some paper. Singular 
enough, the material of this office fol- 
lowed very nearly in the footsteps of the 
old Constitutionalist. It was taken to 
Troy by Dr. E. H. Grant in 186l\ and 
used in the publication of the Patriot; 
in 186-i was taken to Hiawatha where the 
Brown C^ounty Sentinel is now printed 
on the press and type of the Don- 
iphan Post, and the remnants that were 
saved of the old Constitutionalist mater- 
ial. Doniphan is young, but has erected 
three monuments to departed papers. 
She has no paj)er now and depends on 
the Chief for her County news— a good 
dependence, too. The post office was in 
a two-story frame nearly opposite the 
hotel owned by Hon. Robert Graham 
who now lives in Atchison. It has been 
torn down and moved. Thus, one by 
one the old landmarks pass from our 
midst. 

In 1858, the Land Office was removed 
to Kicapoo. Tliat was "the most un- 
kindest cut of all." With its departure 
went the glory of Doniphan— it was tlie 
"beginning of the end" of Doniphan as a 
city. Lawyers' offices were empty, but 
few lawyers I'emaining to remind us t»f 
the many who once favored us with 
their counsel and eloquence. The board- 
ing house keepers groaned and closed; 
the livery horses became fat and lazy, 
and buggies wore not out; gamblers 



GRAY'8 DONIPHAN COUNTY IlISTOKY. 



69 



packed their wallets in their pockets, 
and packed their fixtures to follow' the 
Land Ortice; the old house once occupied 
Ity it. and so often the scene of mirth 
and rivalry, was occupied as a church, 
and the upper part as a lodge of (rood 
'I'eniplars. What a change— from whiskey 
and swearing to water and prayer I In 
1858, Doniphan was the favorite town of 
Nortlu-rn Kansas, and attracted the at- 
tention of tSt. Joseph. 

Here was the point wliere all railroads 
must leave the river, and here was the 
bone of contention. The .St. Joseph and 
'i'opeka railroad was about to be located, 
and it was jjroposed by directors in the 
interest of St. Joseph to cut Doniphan off. 
The meeting of the directors to locate 
the road, was held in this town, in the 
room now occupied by the drug store. 
Everyone was interested in the result of 
tlie vote— it was life or death for the city. 
The preliminary business was transacted, 
and then the projiosition to locate the 
road by way of Doniphan. There were 
five directors. John Stairw^lt was pres- 
ident, I believe. There had been two 
votes cast for Doniphan and one against, 
when Jeff Thompson's (now ex-rebel gen- 
eral) turn came to vote. He prefaced 
his vote as follows: 

"Mr. President— I, personally, am in 
favor (?) of the route via Doniphan but 
am instructed by constituents to vote 
'no' on this question ; therefore I cast ray 
vote against the route." This made a 
tie and as \mt few knew how the presi- 
dent stood, all were in breathless sus- 
pense. He studied a moment and then 
repeated the words of Jeff, but varied the 
latter clause, constituting 'yes' for 'no' 



and we got the location. There was 
wild excitement then. Stairwalt could 
have been ele<;ted president, if the people 
of Doniplian v.onhl have had the say 
in the niattci-. Shout after shout 
went uj> for him. Some men, soon after 
the voting got tight, and iji calling for 
something to drink would say, "Mr, 
Low, jjass Stairwalt this way." Stair- 
wait was on the brain. As time pro- 
gressed, the prospects for the railroad 
grew bright and some contracts were 
ma<le. A very ni(;e gra^le Mas thrown 
up; also a grad«' built oji Independence 
Creek. IJut tliis is all that was ever 
done to the railroad. Had it been com- 
pleted Douij»han would now be a city in 
truth, and not by qu.otation. Several at" 
tempts have beeji niade to recover the 
lost groun<l, l>ut none were success- 
ful; and the war coming on and the rival 
town of Atcliison attracting attention 
from us, we sank into a mere nothing. 
Every store was removed and for a long 
time none were here; a great man v houses 
were taken away or burned. A large 
Catholic churcli, which stood on the east 
side of the hill was destroye^d; the hotel 
was closed: the floiiririg mill did little 
business : and take it all in all we looked 
very much like (xoldsmith's "Deserted 
Village." 

In the early days the Catholic church 
here was consi<iered quite an institution. 
It was proposed at one time, and indeed 
some money had been subscribed, to 
build a cathedral and school house on the 
church block: but owing to some cause — 
most likely the failure of the city — 
the priest. Father Ausustine, who founded 
the mission here, rejnoved to Atchison 



vo 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



and by bis untiring energy has built one 
of the grandest churches and one of the 
best churches in the West. But the old 
site now presents a sad and doleful ap- 
pearance. Nothing but the foundation 
is leit of the building where once Holy 
Mass was wont to be said on each suc- 
ceeding Sabbath, and a hedge of osage 
orange to mai'k the industry of the holy 
father. Near by and further up the hill, 
toward the river, stood an old log house, 
formerly the property of T. J. Key, pro- 
prietor of the first news[)aper; the last 
tenant it had was Mr. Murdock, the first 
Presbyterian minister that ever located 
here. His church was not well attended, 
and, of course, he did not receive the 
support necessary to "keep the wolf 
from the door," therefore he removed 
to Missouri. 

On the point of this hill, and nearly 
opposite the Mix House, stands a very 
old building, now tlie j>roperty of John 
Earheart. It was built of the upper 
works of the old steamboat "Pontiac," 
by James F. Forman. It was occupied 
when I arrived in Doniphan, by General 
Whittield, register of the land office 
and once our delegate to congress. 
The "Pontiac" was sunk about two miles 
above the town, in what is called Smith's 
Bend, some ten or twelve years ago. I 
understand that someone found her hull 
and is now engaged in digging it out. 
She, it is said, had, when sunk, a consid- 
erable amount of liquor on board. If 
they have found her and this be true, it 
will be quite a prize. 

Doniphan, while yet working under a 
charter, concluded that a lock-up was 
necessary, in view of many bad char- 



acters infesting the city. One was built 
near the old drug store in the rear of the 
store now occupied by Phillips & Small- 
wood. It was built of cottonwood and 
made vei-y strong with only two small 
windows— not large enough to supply 
sufficient air in warm weather. The 
tirst one sentenced to this lockup was a 
man by the name of Wright, better 
known as "Satui'day" Wright. It was a 
very hot day, and after being in a few 
hours, someone concluded to speak to 
him through the window; but receiving 
no answer he informed the keeper to 
open the door. Wright was found to be 
almost suffocated, but after considerable 
effort was restored. He did not trouble 
the authorities any more while the house 
stood. It, too, soon passed as a land 
mark of the "city." 

In 1858 a lodge of Good Templars was 
organized at this place, under very fav- 
orable circumstances, and continued to 
flourish and do good for a long time. 
Bat when the railroad was located here 
it was effectually crushed, by most of 
the male members celebrating the event 
in an intemperate manner. The Masonic 
Lodge was organized and has continued 
to flourish ever since. Both these orders 
occupied at the time of organizing, the 
building once used as the Land Office. 
The Masons, now, as they have for some 
years, occupy a tine hall over Phillijis 
& Smallwood's store. I believe there 
was a lodge of Sons of Temperance or- 
ganized here not many months ago, but 
it has ceased to meet. 

But it is time I was looking at the 
bright side of the picture, for it has a 
brighter side. The present business men 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTOKV 



71 



of the town have seen the necessity for 
a change of programme, in order to get 
their money back, and therefore a new 
company was formed, brought out of the 
old one and commenced a more liberal 
way of disposing of lots, the consequence 
of which has been to bring tradesmen to 
town. Doniphan now boasts of three 
good dry goods stores, one drug store, a 
tin shop, two blacksmith shops, a good 
hotel, a fine flouring mill, a saw mill, 
one agricultural implement store, one 
pork packing establishment, and three 
heavy grain buyers and shippers. Mr. 
Adam Brenner was a regular grain dealer. 
His first shelling was done by hand 
shellers, then he progressed to horse- 
power and now he has applied steam. 
He does a very heavy business in this 
line. The next permanent buyer is Mr. 
McCrum, who does about an equal busi- 
ness with the first named. Mr. McCruni 
will shell by steam, this season, having 
an engine on the way to his place. The 
third is Mr. Symns, at present one of the 
County commissioners. He put up a 
large corn house last fall and has it now 
almost filled. Mr. Symns also packed 
this winter some thirteen hundred head of 
hogs. There is now nearly seven thous- 
and bushels of corn in store here; and 
when we consider the ravages made by 
the grasshoppers last spring it is aston- 
ishing that so much was raised in this 
part of the country. Give the farmers 
a clear field in this part of the countxy 
and they will rival the "Egypt" of Illi- 
nois. Doniphan has one of the finest 
schools in the County. Take it all to- 
gether Doniphan is now in a very healthy 
state of improvement." L. A. H. 



All Early Church Festival. 

One of the first great church festivals 
in the County was held at St. Benedict's 
near Syracuse, in January, 1867. We 
offer some extracts from a correspondent's 
letter published in the Troy Reporter, 
January 31, 1867, giving a full account 
of the affair. 

"The Catholic Festival at St. Bene- 
dict's church, Syracuse, commenced on 
Tuesday, the 15fch,and ended on the 10th. 
The first day was fine and pleasant and 
those who came from a distance(()f whom 
there were many) had a pleasant drive. 
Dinner was served on two large tables 
the lengch of the church, which is seven- 
ty-five feet long. It was sumptuous and 
substantial, c()nsisting of turkeys, chickens 
hams, geese, pastries, cakes of different 
kinds, pickles, coffee, tea, etc. The 
tables had to be set three times to give 
all a chance to refresh the inner man. 
The church was crowded to overflowing 
and all appeared to enjoy themselves. 
Those who came from a distance were 
taken care of by the citizens of the vi- 
cinity, though some staid in the church 
all night. Some of the younger folks en- 
joyed themselves at a dance in the neigh- 
borhood and kept it up until morning. 

Considering the disadvantages under 
which the ladies labored, the country be- 
ing thinly settled, compared with some 
of the older states, I consider it one of 
the most successful undertakings of the 
kind that has ever been gotten up in the 
County. The Catholics of that vicinity 
have built a church 75 feet long, 35 feet 
wide, and 1 9 feet high— one of the largest 
and most expensive churches at present in 
this part of the state— without any as- 



72 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



sistance from any party outside of their 
own neighborhood; and this is the only 
effort they have ever made outside of 
their own coiumunity toward collecting 
anything for the completion of the 
church. 

The second day was rather cold, but 
there was fully as large a crowd as on 
Tuesday. Dinner was served about 12 
o'clock, and everybody partook heartily 
of it. I noticed after dinner, several 
baskets of chicken, turkey, ham, etc., 
showing a surplus t)f eatables that should 
have supplied the same number for two 
days more. 

I must not omit noticing the Troy 
Brass Band, which discoursed sweet mu- 
sic at intervals during the day. Nor 
must I forget the young ladies in their 
zeal for the church, for I can promise 
you, and [)rove by any gentle iien who 
were present, that they will stick to a 
man as long as he lias a cent of money in 
his pocket, or as long as he has a friend to 
draw from. But I must not be too se- 
vere on them, as they were working in a 
good cause. 

From what I can learn of the amount 
of money re(^eived in the two days, it 
amounts to $445, clear of all expenses — 
which is doing pretty well for a country 
church, considering the time of year." 



The (ilr'asshoppers. 

In different years grasshoppers have 
shortened the crops of the county, but 
on two occasions only have they done 
great damage. In 1806 the tields of 
grain were few and small and the area of 
distruction was limited; Jievertheless the 
damage done by the "hoppers" caused 



more suffering than it was the lot of 
farmers of later years to endure. There 
are comparatively few persons now liv- 
ing in the county who remember any- 
thing of the devastation of crops in 1866, 
but many a present citizen will easily call 
to mind the grasshopper experience of 
1874-5. One Sunday afternoon in the 
summer of 1874, people glancing sky- 
ward obtained their first glimpse of the 
pests as they came drifting in clouds 
from the west. About two o'clock 
they began to descend upon the fields, 
and at a late hour they were still fall- 
ing like Lucifer's angels. The ground 
was literally covered with them. With- 
in a few days large tields of corn, whose 
fine stalks had been standing in proud 
rows became a desert presenting a scene 
to sicken the strongest heart. The pro- 
gress of the insects was slow but contin- 
uous, and the tall stalks, first stripped of 
their leaves, fell in even swaths, as if 
swept by the flames of an invisible tire. 
After the destruction of the crops, the 
egg laying began, and the helpless farmer 
looked with sad eyes on the work of pro- 
pagation. 

Early the next spring the indestructible 
eggs began to hatch by the billion and 
very soon the ground was covered with 
tiny 'hoppers soon to develop into form- 
idable pests. Hogs fattened on them, for 
they were very easily caught before their 
wings grew out. Chickens grew weary 
of their grasshopper diet, but they search- 
ed in vain for a green blade or a juicy 
stem. Every conceivable plan to annihil- 
ate the pests was tried, but with little or 
no success. Farmers dug long ditches in 
the tield and with sheet spread out, drove 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTV lUSTOUY. 



73 



the insects before them into the ditches 
where they were buried alive or burned. 
We have seen these pits hundreds of 
feet in length and two or three feet in 
depth tilled with hopping, writhing 
masses, and have listened to many rude 
jests and unpalatable tales concerning 
"roasted redlegs" and "grasshopper pie." 
Oats, barley and spring wheat were at- 
tacked by the half-fledged insects, and 
after a few days' work, the same fields 
had changed from growing green to deso- 
late brown, and one who had not known 
the cause of the change had said that the 
fields had been swept by tire. So great 
was the damage done and so wonderful 
were the stories told concerning the pests 
that "Kansas" and "grasshopper" be- 
came synonymous. 

For the benefit of the younger folks 
who have grown up since the grasshopper 
year of '75, we give a short description 
of the insect and his methods of destruc- 
tion. The real destroyers are seldom seen 
except in time of devestation, when they 
always appear in countless millions. 
The grasshopper that flies ahead of you 
on the road, frequently turning and 
striking you in the face, is not the crop 
destroyer but a distant rehlti^■e o' his. 
This big fellow in the yellow coat is 
comparatively harmless. He is quite 
satisfied to live on plain grass, weeds and 
sunlight. The real mischief maker is 
the small chap with the red legs and the 
enormous appetite. His friends join 
him on the edge of a wheat field and 
they begin their march of destruction 
pressing forwai*d in line like soldiers. 
The marching column is from ten to fif- 
teen feet deep, and as the insect soldiers 
advance into the field, they fly over one 
another continually, those in the rear 
over the ones in front, and thex'e is seen 
a constant flashing; of wingrg in the sun- 



light. The ground over which they 
have passed is left quite bare, not a stem 
being left to indicate what kind of grain 
had been growing there. This merci- 
less army is quite capable of destroying 
a ten acre Jield ot wheat within the space 
of a few hours, and the next field 
is attacked with renewed vigor and 
so on until their work of destruc- 
tion is completed. May our children, 
and our children's children be spared 
from the ravages of a grasshopper plague. 



St Joseph & Topeka Railro.id. 

In 1858 the St. Joseph & Topeka 
Railroad company obtained a charter 
from tlie Kansas legislature. The St. 
Josepli (-ity directory for 186U shows 
that Willard P. Hall was president; John 
Corby, vi(te-president; M. .letf Tliompson, 
secretary; Joseph C. Hull, treasurer. 
The city of St. Jose] h issued bonds to 
the amount of |^5U,U0U, to aid the enter- 
prise. It was not until 1872, however 
that anything was done. In that year a 
line was built from Wathena to Doniphan 
via Palermo and GearV' City, by George 
H. Hall, John L. blotter, O. B. Craig, 
Wm. Craig and Geo. W. Barr. The 
road was leased to the K. C., St. J. & 
C>. B. company and operated until 1876. 
Trains M'ere run from St. Joseph to 
Atchison, the St. Joseph and Western 
tracks being used to Wathena, and the 
Atchison & Nebraska tracks from Doni- 
phan to Atchison. The road had been 
bond^nl and the bonds placed with a firm 
of New York brokers. Before the bonds 
were disposed of, the firm failed 
and the bonds were taken by its 
creditors as assets and foreclosed. The 
line was acquired by the St. Joseph & 
Western company. After a time the 
rails were taken up and used on that road. 



CHAPTER VII. 



TALeS OF TKAeeP>Y. 



1854 Young Lady. Burned to death 
on Rock Creek, three miles south of 
Brenner. 

1855 Waggoner and Swintz. Shot near 
present site of Severance. 

Samuel Collins. Killed at Doni- 
phan November 29. 

1856 Unknown. Drowned at Belle- 
mont Bend. 

1857 Unknown. Found murdered in 
Marion township. 

George Parker, Killed by engine 
boiler explosion in Doniphan. 

Parker and jNlilburn. Killed by 
lightning near Syracuse. 

Henry Latham. ^Murdered at Doni- 
phan. 

Connor. Killed by a horse east of 
Troy. 

1858 John Pierson. Death by suicide 
near Iowa Point. 

Cornelius McCoy. Drowned in In- 
dependence Creek near Rector's 
Ford. 

W. K. Easley. Killed on a bridge 
over Roy's Creek in September. 



1859 Charles Dewy. Drowned in the 
Missouri, at White Cloud, June 13. 

John Kinison. Drowned in the 
Missoui'i, near White Cloud, May 27. 

Dana Fox. Murdered near High- 
land. 

1860 Murphy. Killed crossing a bridge 
over a small branch of Wolf River, 
in Iowa township. 

Charles McCloskey. Accidentally 
shot while hunting. 

1861 Negro Slave. Killed by slave 
hunters near Troy. 

Alex. Kinkead. Stabbed and kil- 
led in Burr Oak townshi]), by 
Joseph Tribble. 

Parker A. Hooper. Killeil at 
Hooper's F'ord in April, by John 
Cunimings. 

CI as. Hamilton. Killed by James 
Carr, at Charleston. 

1862 "White Horse" (Indian). Found 
dead on Reservation, White Cloud, 
Januaiy 29. 

Whitney. Son of O. C. Whitney, 
White Cloud, killed bv fallint>- from 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HllSTOUY. 



75 



liis horse, December 16. 

Webster. Killed by soldiers at 
White Cloud, September 8. 

1). W. Fritzlein. Shot" and killed 
l)y .John Young, between Elwood 
and Wathena, September 21. 

Unknown. Found dead on Devil's 
Run ill northeastern Wolf River 
township. 

Samuel Slaughter. Killed by 
soldiers near Elwood, September 4. 

(xrandison Wilson. Killed by sol- 
diers near Walnut Grove, Sept. 2. 

JS'i.J James Round. Accidentally shot 
himself December 16, near Brown 
County line. 

Two Indians, "Bob W'hite- Cloud 
and "Thermana." Killed in quar- 
rel on Reservation. 

Dr. E. S. Bowman. Killed by 
lightning near Welch's branch in 
Wolf River township, September 3. 

Ward L. Lewis. Shot by an assas- 
in at Elwood. 

l.s()5 Wm. Frazier. Killed in cyclone 
near Highland Station, June 16. 

Mary Malen. Burned to death 
near the present site of Moray. 

Frank Whipple. Drowned in In- 
<lependence Creek, August 5. 

Jacob Wingett. Accidentally 
shot by James Pickett, in White 
Cloud, June 5. 

Daniel O'Rouke. Killed by L. 
S. Jennings near White Cloud, in 
September. 

1866 Jefferson. Three colored chil- 
dren of Highland were burned to 
death, February 12. 

John More. Killed by lightning 



near Troy, October 7. 

Unknown. Drowned in the Mis- 
souri near Elwood, about September 
12. 

Rebecca Robertson. Died from in- 
juries received while skating near 
home in northeastern Wolf River 
township, February 2. 

Joseph Hunt. Editor of the Troy 
Reporter, died of injuries received 
by falling from house. 

1867 Unknown. Two men were 
d-rowned in the Missouri, between 
Elwood and St. Joseph, Feb. 10. 

Schuster. Stabbed and killed by 
John Hartman, in Burr Oak town- 
ship. 

Smith B. Head. Shot by Hugh J. 
Randolqh, Marion Township. Ran- 
dolph was killed in a well a few 
years afterwards. 

John Barlow. Killed in a well 
on what is now the Charles Albers 
farm near Syracuse, April 17. 

Mullenix. Son of C'harles Mul- 
lenix was drowned near Mauck's mill, 
July 24. 

1868 John Miller. Accidentally shot 
and killed himself, March 22, on the 
steamer St. Joseph. 

Terence Harkins. Killed by In- 
dians, about 125 miles this side of 
Laramie, September 21. Home near 
White Cloud. 

James Coates. Drowned in the 
Missouri, at Lafayette, in Doniphan 
County, July 28. 

1869 N. Smith. Suicided with razor; 
home south of Troy, on Rock creek. 

Unknown. Boy drowned in the 
Missouri September 30. 



70 • 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN (H)ITNTY HISTORY. 



1B70 Jiula. Crushed to death by cars 
in Doniphan, about Dee. 22. 

Sproles. Scalded to death in 
Doniphan in the pork house scald- 
ing tank, about Dec. 23. 

1871 Frank Gossin. Fell into a well at 
Troy, August 8. 

Mrs. Sawyer. Killed by the fall- 
ing of a tree in Gladden's Bottom, 
Aug. 22. 

1872 Joseph I). Pierce. Gored to 
death by a bull on Rock Creek, 
near Doniphan, July 2i». 

Margaret. Morley. Died from the 
effects of an over dose of laudanum, 
near Norway, January 2 7. 

John Lysaght. Killed in a runa- 
way in Burr Oak township, Decem- 
ber 11. 

McLaughlin. Boy, aged 13, died 
from exposure and sickness, caused 
by extreme cruelty, in ^^'hite Cloud, 
March 24. 

JVlrs. Thomas Lynch. Killed by 
cars at Troy, April 9. 

Jonathan Rigby. Shot himself 
accidentally, near Geary City, 
March 28. 

Elijah Young. Killed by light- 
ning, west of Norway, July 15. 

Hancock. Child of George Han- 
cock, burned to death at Doniphan, 
March 2. 

Mrs. Doms. Died from injuries 
received in a cyclone, iNIay 3. 

Brown. Son of Mr. Brown of 
White Cloud, drowned in the Mis- 
soui'i, in December. 

Kelley. Drowned himself in the 
Missouri near White Cloud, Aug. G. 

Guy Craig. Accidentally shot in 



Wathena, November. 10. 

Alexander Roum. Accidentally 
killed in scuffle with John Retchet/- 
kie, over a revolver. Both men 
were from Brenner, but this oc- 
curred in Seneca, November 12. 

1873 Fireman Perkins. Killed by cars 
on the A. &. N. railway between 
Troy Junction and Doniplian, INLarch 
31. 

Mrs. Elliot. Shot herself at 
(leary City, August 4. 

1874 Meers. Son of Nathaniel Meers, 
accidentally shot near Troy, Janu- 
ary 1. 

James Burke. Dragged to death 
by a horse, in the St. Benedict 
neighborhood, September lu. 

Darius Willis. Killed by thresh- 
ing machine. 

E. Linder. Suicide by poisi-n at 
Iligby House, Troy, June 11. 

James Fulton. Shot in a quarrel, 
near Wathena, in August. 

Elijah Emery. Killed by cars in 
(xeary City, October 17. 

John Trotman. Suicide by 

cro\Mnng in Peter's (reck, Cctoltr 
23. 

Ketchem. Six year old girl, 
burned to death near (4eary City. 
January 22. 

1875 James McGalliard. Killed in n 
well in District No. 49, January 20. 

Harrison Grubb (colored). Shot 
and killed by a mob near Troy. 
James McPherson, of \\'atliena, one. 
of the mob, was accitlentally shot 
and killed at the same time. 

Arthur P. Combe. Shot and 



GliAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTi' iiiSIOiiV 



77 



killed by a man named Harris, in 
])onii)han, April 6. 

Berry. Daughter of Fhomas Berry 
of Leona, died of snake bite, in 
August. 

Anna Pengra. Drowned (?) in the 
Missouri, north of Troy, June '2. 

Mrs. Cowley. Died suddeidy on 
the cars at Troy JunetioTi, August 
17. 

Elsworth Monroe. Drowned in 
pond near Troy, September 5. 

Mrs. Wm. Hurst. Killed by hus- 
band at White Cloud, July 29. 

John O'Shea. Murdered near 
East Norway, April 5. 

Hugh Randolph. Killed in a well 
in Marion Township, August 24. 

Nicholls. Son of Mr. Nieholls, 

south of Troy, poisoned, August 16. 

1876. Mrs. Brackenbury. Killed by 

the cars near Fanning,November lu. 

Chris. Turkleson. Drowned near 
Leona, February 19. 

Thomas B. Blackenship. Killed 
by falling from his wagon in IJurr 
Oak Township, March 4. 

Cornelius Kirley. Kicked to 
death by a mule. James Kirley, 
his brother, was crushed to death by 
a wagon some years later. The 
father, Patrick Kirley, was thrown 
from his horse and killed, in July 
1898, near St. Benedict's church. 

1877 Hopkins. A child of Dr. G. S. 
Hopkins, accidentally poisoned in 

Severance, September 1 . 

Charles M. Devine. Suicide by 
hanging, near Highland, October 11. 

1878 Calvert. Daughter of Jasper 
C^alvert, kicked by a horse near 



Troy, October 14. 

CUement Pope. A young son of 
Clement Pope, killed by a small cy- 
clone, near Norway, now Moray, 
July 30. 

Moses Black. Killed by flying 
timber in wund storm, near Pleasant 
Kidge, Wayne Township, July 3. 

J. K. Jeffries. Dragged to death 
by a mule, near Highland, August 20. 

187i> Joseph Sykes. Stabbed and killed 
by Ira Mclntyre, in Severance, Nov- 
ember It). 

Tliomas Mc(4ee. I)i(Hl from the 
rupture of a blood vessel in the brain 
caused by a fall on railroad bridge 
at Severance in- March. 

Andrew Loyd. Killed by cars at 
BreniU'r, February 25. 

Joseph Schneider. Shot by sheriff 
while resisting arrest in Burr Oak 
'^Pownshii), S((]>tember 3. 

1880 B. F. Herring. Shot and killed 
himself August 16, near Highland. 

Leslie Watkins. Ten year old boy 
kicked by a horse, February 24. 

Mrs. IjcDeu. Killed by the cars 
near White Cloud, in February. 
She was one hundred years old. 

Milburn. Two year old child, 
poisoned by little brothers near 
Brush Creek in December. 

Ed. Hayton. Accidentally shot 
himself near Wathena, October 20. 

1881 Norman Steanson. Son of 
Thomas Steanson, north of Norway, 
kicked by a mule, August 6. 

Miss F. Kurguson. Suicide by 
poison, at Troy Junction, December 
9. 

Unknown. Drowned in ]k>o1 of 



16 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



water at Wathona, during the rise 
of the Missouri. 

Nelson. Small child of Mrs. L. 
C. NelsoTi of Severance, came to her 
death by administration of wrong 
medicine, March 2t). 

Charles McCauley, Frank Wheeler, 
William Dunn. Killed itt rear end 
train rollision between Troy and 
Wathena, .lune 17. 

1882 John 1 lines, Accidentally shot 
and killed himself on Wolf river, 
January (>. 

Micluu'l Kelley. Killed by cars 
near Fanjiino:, January 14. 

Leander lloverson. Killed l)y 
cars at Norway, March 2o. 

Richter. Shot and killed by his 
wife near Leona, May 2. She tlien 
shot and killed herself. 

John James. Accidentally shot 
and killed at I)()ni|ilian by a com- 
panion. May 4. 

Ciiarles Morehc'id. Ivilled by 
cars near Severance. May 29. 

188;{ Judge I'rii'o. Suici(U'<l at Troy, 
April S. 

Neal (lillen. Drowned in Union 
'^rownship, June 10. 

Freil Mueller. Suicide, r>urr Oak 
Township, June 14. 

George McDaniel. Killed by cars 
near Highland Station, July 9. 

Robinson (boy. ) Dragged to death 
by cow, at Severance, December 10. 

John Hurria. Killed in runaway 
near Highland, INI arch 2 7. 

1884 Charles MeCabe. Hung himself 
in Union Township, JNlarch 1, • 

John Dunning (boy.) Hung him- 



self at Doniphan, March 11. 

Marion Stairwalt. Accidentally 
killed in a saw mill at Petersburg 
Bottoms, April 3. 

Cathers. Killed by cars at Iowa 
Point, April 25. 

Jacob Zimmerman. Hung himself 
near Troy, August 15. 

James Brenteno. Accidentally 
killed at threshing machine, in 
l^nion Township, August 29. 

Wm. Ege and Joseph Langan. 
Poisoned by mistake at bar in Don- 
iphan, November 1. 

Charles Williams. Suicide by 
shooting, at \Yhite CMoud, December 
14. 

Peter Studer. Killed by a fall 
from a wagon. December 13. 

George Donaldson. Killed by 
cars mar Norway, Noveml)er 21. 

1885. James Bethards. Suicide by 

shooting, west of Troy, March 18. 
William A. Feidey. Killed by 

Peter Weiuinger, near Highland, in 

June. 
188(5. James Dryden. Killed by cars 

near Troy, December 22. 

1887 ^^'illiam S. Myers. Drowned near 
Troy, June 17. 

Paul (lentet. Killed by lightning, 
in Marion Townshij), July 2(i. 

Mi(rhael Buckley. Killed by the 
cars near Wathena, August 20. 

R. H. Barber. Killed by acci- 
dental discharge of gun, near White 
Cbtud. January 17. . 

1888 Mrs. J. C. Weidensaul. Suicide by 
shooting, north of Highland, May 5. 

Mulligan (boy.) Accidentally shot 



QUAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HifSlOHY 



79 



liimsolf, near IScvfraiU'o, -lime 11. 

Will. Cole. Killed by the cars at 
Wathena, July 4. Deaf and dumb. 

James C. ^Yilliamson. Neck brok- 
en in runaway, in Washington Town- 
ship, August 3. 

Ed. Williams. Suicide by shoot- 
ing, at his home on JNlosquito creek, 
September 8. 

Tom Kirley. Killed in runaway 
in Union Township, December 4. 
I,ss5) Ferdinand Von Leevre. Mur- 
dered at his home in Wayne Town- 
ship in January. 

Mick. Killed on Iiulian Reserva- 
tion by Frank DeLong, June 30. 

Nathan Bender. Suffocated in a 
well near Doni{)han, October 30. 

J. W\ Cook. Killed in a cellar 
at Wathena by a blow received in 
lalling, June (>. 
isiMj Neallleeney. Killed l»y lightning 
near Severance, May 31. 

J. S. Williams. Killed by cars 
two miles west of Bendena, June 11. 

Charles Dockhorn. Shot and 
killed by Charles Carroll, near El- 
wood in April. 
ISDl Freeman. Suicide by shooting 
after having killed his wife and 
child in Severance, August 4. 

Wm. H. Mertz. Suicide at Leona, 
November 28. 

Fred Paul. Killed by cars at El- 
wood, December 2. 

Otto Vogt. Killed in runaway, 
north of Troy, December 11. 

1892 Napoleon H. IJoxley. Killed by 
cars, at El wood, about December 21. 

1803 Neal Pinverd. Accidentally killed 



in a watermelon patch near Denton, 
in August. 

Charles Rowe. Killeil by falling 
from the cars near Wathena, July 4. 

Lewis Schletzbaum. Drowned in 
Doniphan Lake, August 6. 
185)4 Unknown. Killed by cars in 
GolPs cut, one mile east of Sever- 
ance, during the winter. 
18*.)o (Tarvey. Son of T. (Jarvey of 
Severance, dragged to deatli by a 
horse. 

William Ilayton. Dragged to 
death by a team hitched to a wagon 
at Troy, A{ ril 12. 

William .Mack (colored.) Kille<l 
by cars near Bendena, June 1 1. 

James Wright. Killed at White 
Cloud by Sesto, an Italian, June 23. 

Drinming, Shanklin. Ed. Dren- 
ning, killed by cars while making 
an attempt to save Shanklin, who 
was on the track, Sejttember 21. 
1890 John Jones. Neck broken by 
fall from a load of hay, near Ben- 
dena, November 10. 

Jacob Kout. Dra^gged to death by 
his horses in Union Township in 
January. 

1897 Unknown. Killed by cars at 
Severance during the summer. 

Charles Rosquin. Killed by the 
cars near I^endena, in March. 

1898 Wendell Braun. Nine year old 
son of Wendell Braun. drowned in 
cistern near Doniphan, November 6. 

1899 Henry Smith. Drowned in the 
Missouri, July 23. 

E. A. Harriot. Killed by falling 
from cars at Wathena, September 6. 



80 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



John R;ihl. Killed in a runaway 
near Highland, September 21. 

Dittemore. Son of Bud Ditte- 
more, burned to death in November. 

Milford Booth. A bachelor who 
lived in a dug-out near Iowa Point, 
smothered to death by a cave-in, in 
the s[)ring of the year. 

1900 Capt. Casey. Shot by Ed. Young 
on the Charleston Bar, April 3. 

Wm. Bridgeiia. Killed by the cars 
at Elwood, February 28. 

Mary Herring. Burned to death 
near Highland Station, November 15. 

Jordan VandersUce. Died of hy- 
drophobia near Highland Station, 
August 25. 

Lizzie Vanbebber. Suicide by 
poisoning near Leona, July 9. 

Wm. Folche. Died in a well 
near Brenner, in March. 

Mrs. Janios Galloway. Drowned 
in the river near Wathena, in Au- 
gust. 

Perry Round. Drowned in the 
Missouri river at Elwood, August 10. 

1901 Carl White. Shot and fatally in- 
jured by Howard Lang, at Troy, 
September 29. 

1902 Thomas Nelson. Killed at Geary 
City, October 26. 

190:5 Fred ITuft'. Accidentally shot 
himself on Cedar Creek, February 6. 
1904 Tony Long (colored.) Killed by 
the cars at Wathena, September 3. 
Edward Doyle. Killed by the 
cars betM'een Troy and Wathena, 
May 22. 

Isaac Miller. Suicide at Elwood, 
September 6. 



1905 Geo. Erskine. Killed by falling 
from a load of hay, January 15. 

Vera Curtis. Suicide by drink- 
ing carbolic acid, two miles west t>f 
Troy, July 1. 

Wm. Mitchel. Shot and killed in 
his bed at Troy, in June. 

Five Men. Five men were 
drowned in the Missouri, above El- 
wood, early in the spring. 



George D. Bennett, County Avssessor 
in 1861, but later a notorious horse 
thief, was caught and hung near Wathena 
on Sunday, August 14, 1864. His de- 
predations in connection with a gang of 
thieves and murderers had been numer- 
ous and aggravating. He committed au 
outrage during the winter of 1863-4, 
barely escaping being caught by leaving 
the state. When he fled his wife re- 
mained at Elwood. A few days before 
his linal capture he was seen lurking 
around his place. The citizens, deter- 
mined to make him pay the penalty, 
found him in his hiding place in a hay 
mow, and took him to Wathena, where 
preparations were made to hang him. 
He proposed if the men would not hang 
him, he would tell where a valuable stal- 
lion, that had been stolen from a Mr. 
Rogers, could be found. He attempted 
to escape but was shot and severely 
wounded by four or live bullets. Then; 
was no delay. He was strung up at 
once and left hanging for some time. 
On the following day his remains were 
buried in Bellemont cemetery. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



b:p>itoks anp> thsir work. 



BRIEF NEWSPAPER HISTORY. 

Since the organization of the County, 
in 1855, more than forty-tive neAvspapers 
have been born. A score of them died 
in their babyhood, and many never 
reached the years of their "teens.'" Only 
one of the very first has survived, to en- 
joy the life and prosperity of the present 
day— the Chief, born in the fifties. Fol- 
lowing is a brief historical mention of 
each. In the town histories will be 
found additional information concerning 
these publications. 

C^onstitutionalist.— The Doniphan Con- 
stitutionalist was the first paper ever 
published in the county. It was started 
in 1855, by Thomas J, Key. It lived 
about two years. 

Chief .—The first issue of the Chief was 
printed at White Cloud the first week in 
June, 1857. In July, 1872, the office 
was removed to Troy, wliere it is still 
published. Sol Miller was the editor un- 
til the spring of 1897, when he died. 

Era.— A paper called the Era began 
publication at Geary City, in June 185 7, 
with three editors in the saiu^tum— E. H. 



Grant, Republican; Joseph Thompson, 
Democrat; Earl Marble, American. It 
was a free state .paper, but it soon died, 
aged less than two years. 

Advertiser.— In July, 1857, Fairman 
& Newman started the Elwood Adver- 
tiser, a neutral paper, which lived only 
until the wild plums were ripe again. 

Crusader of Freedom.— 'JMiis paper 
was established at Doniphan by James 
Redpath, early in 1858, to boom Jim 
Lane for the presidency, but Lane soon 
picked a quarrel with tlie editor, and the 
paper gave up the ghot^t after a few 
months of existence. 

Enquirer.— Thomas Key, taking "a 
sack" of type which had been used in 
the printing of the Doniphan Constitu- 
tionalist, went to Iowa Point and started 
the Enquirer, in July 1858. It proved a 
failure. 

Leader.— In the summer of 1858, F. 
W. Emery and Charles Perham estab- 
lished the leader at Palermo, but it died 
in the great drouth of 1860. 

Free Prens.— In the winter of 1858-9 
the Ehvood Free Press was established 



82 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN (X)UNTY HISTORY 



on the ruins of the Advertiser. Its ed- 
itors were D. \V. Wilder and Albert L. 
Lee. Later, Harmon D. Hunt was one 
of the editors. The paper dried up in 
the fall of 1861. 

Democrat.— Late in 1858 Joseph 
Thomj son, taking the outlit of the 
Geary City Era to Troy, established the 
Democrat at that place. After a "check- 
ered" career of a few weeks it turned up 
its leaden toes. 

Highlander.— About the opening of 
the year 1859, Faulkner & Seaver began 
the publication of the Highlander at 
Highland, with T. P. Herrick, editor. 
It passed away after a few months of 
real usefulness. 

Dispatch.— In the fall of 1859, Ansel 
Watrous, Jr., and J. \V. Biggers started 
the Dispatch, a Democratic ])aper, at Iowa 
Point. The editor was Dr. Jabez Robin- 
son. The spring of 186U saw its death 
in Iowa Point, but in the fall of the 
same year it was resurrected and pub- 
lished at Troy as the Donijilian County 
Dispatch, with Biggers liandling the 
quill. After tbe election it died again. 

Post.— The Doniphan Post, Demo- 
cratic, by George Rees and his brother, 
was establishad in the summer of 18G0. 
It lived a little over a year, the political 
climate not being suited to its constitu- 
tion. 

Patriot.— Dr. E. II. Grant, Avith the 
material of the defunct Post, started the 
Doniphan County Patriot in Troy, in 
April, 1862. It .was made a Lane paper. 
F. M. Tracy was afterwards connected 
with it, but it was absorbed by tlie In- 
vestigator in the spring of 1864. 



Investigator.— In February, 1864, the 
Investigator, an anti-Lane paper, was 
started at Troy. Its editor was H. C'. 
Hawkins. The paper soon absorbed the 
Patriot, but was itself soon converted 
into another paper, the Soldier, estab- 
lished the following year. 

Soldier.— In 1865, just after the close 
of the war, the Doniphan Soldier was 
established at Troy, S. H. Dodge being 
the editor. It soon "folded its tent," 
there being no more lighting to be done. 

Reporter.— The Patriot- Investigator- 
Soldier outtit was used by Joseph H. 
Hunt to start the Reporter in Troy in 
1865, which was continued by him until 
his death in 1866. Robert Tracy then 
took hold of the paper and published it 
until it was taken to Wathena, in 1867, 
where it was run under the management 
of E. H. Snow and George W. Larzer- 
lere, until 1877, when it died. 

Republican. — In November, 18G8. C'. 
G. Bridges started the. Republican at 
Troy. In 1871 he sold it to Beal ct 
Sanborn, who ran it until 1875, when 
Sol Miller bought the outtit and buried 
the i)aper. 

Democrat.— A paper called the Demo- 
crat was started in Doniphan, in May, 
1871, by J. J. Ricketts. Thomas Stivers 
was the editor. In 1872 the pa}»er fol- 
lowed the path leading to the already well 
populated newspaper graveyard. 

Herald. — The Herald was started at 
Doniphan in 1872, by Drs. J. J. and W. 
W. Crook, but even those brother phy- 
sicians could not save the paper from an 
early death. The Herald was Democratic. 

Leader. —A Grange i)aper called the 



GLiAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY' HISTORY 



8:3 



Leader was established at White Cloud 
in August, 1872, by Yard and Overholt; 
but fate got the "nnderholt," and the 
l)aper lived only about two months. 

Bulletin.— C. G. Bridges, once of the 
Republican, bought the Watliena Re- 
porter in May, 1877, and, bringing the 
Dutiit to Troy, established the Bulletin, 
a Hayes paper. In January, 1879, it 
croaked. 

Sentinel.— An in 'cpcndent paper, the 
Sentinel, was established at Highland in 
January, 187S, by George F. Hammer, 
but it did not live to see the flo/rers of 
spring. 

Advance.— In February, 1878, E. A. 
Davis started a greenback paper in Wa- 
thena, calling it the Advance. He did 
not succeed in getting together enougli 
greenbacks to pay expenses, and so had 
to suspend publication of the i)aper the 
following June. 

Mirror.— This paper, foundeJ on t'le 
ruins of the Advance, by George W. 
Larzelere, the same year at \^'athena, 
did not live long. 

Review.— In October, 1880, the White 
Cloud Review Avas founded by George 
H. Holton. The paper was Republican. 
It died in September, 1887. 

Central State.— The Central State, 
Democratic, was started at Highland in 
November 1880, by John L. Parker. 
SooJi after it passed into control of a 
man named Moore. Its life was short 
and not very sweet. 

Bible Investigator.— The Bible Inves- 
tigator, a paper devoted to the discussion 
of religious subjects, was started at Don- 
iphan in 1882, by William Kirby. Its 



publication was not long continued. 
News.— In March, 1882, Dr. Welsh «fe 
Son started the Doniphan News, a small 
local paper, but continued its publication 
only a))<)ut six months. This little paper 
was a great joke. 

Enter])rise.— The Severance Enterpris-j 
was establislied in Fe])raary 188;>, by H. 
H. Brookes, and dried u{> a few months 
later. 

Times.— E.. J. Van Deventer started 
the times in Severaiice, August :]0, 1883, 
a few weeks after the decease of the 
E:it yprise, but the first frost, which 
came early in November, Icilled it. 

Times.— On Sc[)teml)er :>, 188(j, A. 
W. Beale establislied the Times in Troy. 
The paper had niany owners and editors, 
and lived until about I'JOO. 

Ke;-iurrection-Eagle.— David Magoun, 
a hot-footed {)rinter, started a j)aper in 
White Cloiul in Octol^er, 1887, calling it 
the Resurrection. The second week the 
name vras changed to the Eagle, and the 
tif h week the bird soared away. 

Review.— The While Cloud Review 
again appeared in August, 1888. Saun- 
ders Brothers were the projtrietors. It 
existed uiitil January, 1890. 

News.— The Severance News waw 
started on the 6th of April by W.T. Ran- 
dolph. In September, 189ii, it was 
purchased by P. L. Gray, who published 
it until the spring of 1897. Since that 
time it has had four editors, L. J*. John- 
son, Eva Ryan, M. Lucey, and Ilattie E. 
Peeler. 

Gazette.— I'he Wathena (nrazette made 
its first a})pearanoe on the fourth of July, 
1889, published by C. C. Bartruff. About 



84 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



a year later it was dead and under ground. 

Echo.— The Bendena Echo first saw the 
light in the rear of the store of Pat Gray, 
at Bendena, on the 13th of July, 1889. 
It was a very small paper containing local 
news and literary matter. The publish- 
ers were Gray and Morgan. The author 
of this History set his first stick of type 
in the Echo office. The paper died young. 

Nuncio.— The publication of the High- 
land Nuncio began about December, 1889, 
in charge of the students of the Univei'S- 
ity. We do not know Iiow long it lived. 

Vidette.— H. S. Hogue started the Vi- 
dette at Highland, in February, 1892. 
The paper was })urchased by Tobias Lar- 
sen, in 1897 and is still in his charge. It 
is a very good little paper, with a bright 
minded editor. 

Globe.— In the spring of 1892, J. J. 
Faulkner established the White Cloud 
Globe, which is still continued by E. L. 
Markeivl-v. 

Sun.— E. C. Mailler, aged 17, started the 
Sun at Leona, in 1894. It was burned 
out, but was re-established. Howewi, it 
died after a year's struggle against bad 
luck in hard times. 

Hustler.— The Doniphan County Hust- 
ler was established over the ruins of the 
Sun, by E, C. Mailler ( the irrepressible 
Bunt), in January, 1897. It lived about 
a year. In ]March, 1903, Harry Mailler, 
"Bunt's little brother," purchased the 
outfit of the defunct Hustler and estab- 
lished Hustler II, which is still continued. 
The desire to print is in the Mailler fam- 
ily, and the present editor of the Hustler 
is a young man who will one day shine a 
bright star in the literary firmament. 



Star.— Bert Howard started the Star at 
Wathena, about 1895. After a few years 
of struggle it began to show symptoms of 
dyspepsia. Pool Grinstead took charge 
and made it a newsy sheet; but he got in- 
to political trouble, and lost it. He then 
established the Republican. But his pol- 
itical views again got him into trouble 
and his second paper was lost to him. 
Possessing true editorial grit, he started 
a third paper and called it the Times. 
Some months ago he severed connections 
with this third venture, but we feel sure 
that he hasn't put oft" the harness for good . 
Both the Republican and the Times stili 
continue. 

^^hetl.— In 1896, C. E. Williamson 
began the Wheel at Denton ; but it soon 
rolled away. 

Journal.— A paper called the Journal 
established at Denton late in the nineties, 
soon wore out for lack of oil. 



Let us all admire the courage of our 
own Sol Miller, who, in 1857, v/hen there 
was less than half a dozen houses in the 
vilh\ge uf White Cloud, opened his "sack 
of type" and founded the Kansas Chief, 
for forty years the best all round paper 
in the State. Miller w is one of the few 
men who lived through the troublesome 
times when men settled their differences 
with sword, and gun, and knife, without 
ever having pulled the trigger of a gun to 
fire a shot. In his own sketch of his life 
he stated that he never had fired a gun, 
which is a remarkable statement for a [)i- 
oneer editor to make. 



CHAPTER IX. 



HUTSHSLI. HISTORY. 



Six ear loads of hemp were recently 
shipped from Troy, raised- principally by 
Norwegian farmers on the high prairie 
west of town. The price paid was 160 
a ton. — White Cloud Chief, June, 1872. 

At the house of Benj. Harding, near 
where Wathena now stands was held the 
first county election, November 24, ] 854. 
Election of delegates to Congress. 

There are still living in the County a 
few men who remember Jim Lane's big, 
bony foi'efinger, his bear skin overcoat, 
and his calf skin vest. The old folks 
speaking of Lane always close their re- 
marks with the signicant saying: "He 
was a queer Jim." 

In the early sixties the county assessor 
found thirty or forty slaves to list as per- 
sonal property. A slave was worth con- 
siderable money. A man named Davis 
who lived near Doniphan, traded forty 
acres of land for a good, healthy negro 
whom he took with him to Missouri. 
About the same time a negro slave was 
sold at auction in Iowa Point. 

The originator of Decoration day, it is 



claimed was James Red path, who was at 
one time a resident of this County. 
While here he was editor of the Crusader 
of Freedom at Doniphan. Some years 
ago he was killed by a street car in an 
eastern city. Redpath Avas the author of 
one or two books on Kansas, and also of 
a life of John Brown. 

The first meeting of the newly elected 
County commissioners was held at White- 
head, in October, 1855. 

An early pony express rider whose 
route lay through this County was John 
Fry. He rode from St. Joseph to Seneca 

The Doniphan County Agricultural, 
Horticultural, and Mechanical Association 
completed its organization as an institut- 
ion of public interest, in the month of 
January, 18(58 ; since which time it has 
been growing in public favor very rapid- 
ly, and has given an impetus to all branch- 
es of agriculture in the County. This 
association has received so much encour- 
agement, and has been so active in its 
effect upon the products of the county, 
that it is deemed advisable to hold a coun- 
ty fair this coming fall; and arrange- 



86 



GUAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



meats are now nearly completed for this 
enterprise. This is known to he a step 
in the right direction, and one that will 
place us much higher in the scale of im- 
|)rovement. — From Smith & Vaughan's 
'•History and Directory." 

One of the first platform dances in the 
county was given at Ryan Station, in 
the fall of 1869, at which time the station 
was the western terminus of the St. Jo- 
seph & Denver City Railroad. Elsewhere 
in this work will be found a sketch of 
this big event, prepared from notes 
furnished by one of the fair sjix who was 
])resent with her beau. 

In 1852 Watliena's wigwam was built 
on the spot a few rods north of the place 
now occupied by the steam flouring mills. 
It was built with a frame work of poles 
tied together with hickory bark, and cov- 
ered with elm bark, and after the remov- 
al of the chief, it was used for a church 
for some time. Old '>Vathena cultivated 
a small field near his wigwam, raising an 
abundance of corn and vegetables. In 
the very early days he had a few white 
neighbors who found him to be a ])retty 
good Indian, not counting his "habit of 
theft." 

A Grange lodge was organized in School 
District No. 8, early in the seventies, 
l)ut the grasshoppers came soon after- 
wards, and chewed big, ragged holes in 
the initialing costumes ; also the goat's 
bellyband and crupper were gnaAved and 
destroyed, and tlie lodge was abandoned. 

About 1880 a vein of coal nearly two 
feet in thickness was discovered on the 
McNulty farm, in the Saint Benedict's 
neighborhood. The coal, which was of 



fair quality, was used by many of the 
neighbors. Evidences of the existence of 
coal has been found in different parts of 
the County, but we never shall have coal 
barons for citizens, because ours is pre- 
eminently an agricultural County. 

Going away frow Doniphan County is 
like leaving one's mother, wife, or sweet- 
heart. This is the substance of the tes- 
timony of many nien who went away but 
soon wanted to return. 

The disturbances of thi'ee earthquakes 
have been felt here. The first shock was 
felt April 24, 1867, at 2 o'clock in the af- 
ternoon. The second, almost as severe, 
came in September, 1871. The third, 
which did little more than arouse light 
sleepers, came one morning in October, 
18915. 

During the sixties ague was a common 
ailment. There was scarcely a farm that 
did not have its swampy places. Malarial 
poisons had their origin in those places, 
and until they were annihilated by culti- 
vation and drainage, large quantities of 
quinine and boneset were required to pre- 
serve t!ie health of the settlers. 

About the year 1860, thousands of cat- 
tle that were being dvivui up from the 
South tlirough the Cou:ity were attacked 
by Texas fever and died, and for many 
years the prairies of the southern and 
western parts of Wolf River townshij) 
were literally covered with their bones. 

There have been two excessively dry 
years in the history of our County— 1860 
and 1901. 

The proprietors of Ayer's Ague Cure 
at one time owned land here. In the 
early days before the swamps and bogs 



(;iiAV\S DONIPHAN COUN'ri ill^SlUlti 



87 



had dried up, Dr. Aver sold enough cure 
t<)i)urchase many good Doniphan County 
farms. There is not an old settler who 
will not tell you that ague was, at one 
time, more to be dreaded than the visits 
of Indians. 

There was little timber on the ])rairies 
in the early days. The only groves plant- 
ed during the sixties were of eottonwood 
transplanted from the river bottoms. A 
little later, locusts and box-elders were 
brought into use; but these were again 
supplanted by maple, walnut, and other 
shady trees. 'I'he great sleet storm of 
1S81 destroyed or retarded the growth of 
numy tine groves on the high j>rairies. 

Until about 1870, candles and tallow- 
dips were in general use. All reading 
and night work was done by those miser- 
able lights. For a long time there was a 
disinclination to use the kerosene lamp, 
because of its reputed liability to explode; 
besides oil was dear, and the pockets of 
the old fashioned jeans were not lined 
with gold. Sometimes a rude lantern of 
tin with perforations was used for out 
door work, and this with its myriad eyes 
of tire, was as ghostly thing as one would 
wish to see when alone. 

At St. Jose{)h, the river originally tlow- 
ed in front of First street. Later it ran 
along Fourth street, and the intervening 
land had disa])peared. A non-resident 
wlu) purchase*! lots soon after the city 
was laid out, returned in 1858, to look 
for them. He supj)os<Hl them to be some 
where in the bed of the stream, but had 
the curiosity to ascertain by survey. They 
jiroved to be on the other side of the riv- 
er in El wood, Kansas.— Richardson's "Be- 
yond the Mississippi." 



The following brief war story we have 
from a fairly reliable source: In 1862, 
soldiers of the Doniphan County Militia 
on their way to meet Gen. Price on his 
northern march, camped at Atchison 
where, in the shade of niglit they charged, 
not "upon a flock of geese,'" but upon a 
ten dozen flock of chickens belonging to 
Mrs. Clem Rohr, putting all to death ex- 
cept one hoary rooster that no one would 
dare to tackle. Next day thei'e was a big 
soup feast in the army, and the soldiers 
were put in good trim for the prospective 
fight with Price. Price having learned 
wlia'o our boys had done to the poultry, 
changed his march. No doubt had our 
boys met the famous raider, something 
would have happened; whereas. Price not 
appearing, there was nothing done, and 
those of the boys that did not visit the 
brewery returned to their homes with 
only chicki n blood on their hands. 

In the year of 1855, James H. Lane 
organized a "Danite'" iodide in Doniphan, 
for the furtherance of his political 
schemes. Pat Longhli;i, James Red- 
path and others, who had been mem- 
bers, became disgusted with the workings 
of the "order," and divulged some of the 
"secrets," and the tbijig went apart. The 
troulde which led to the killing of Col- 
lins in November of the same year, had 
its source in this lodge. 

A "prize fight" in which two Doniphan 
County men— Jim Loucks and Marion 
Steele— were the principals, was fought 
on the Missouri side of the river opposite 
Doniphan, about the year 1867. The 
tight was to have taken place in Doniphan 
but the town aiHhorities would not per- 
mit it, and a sand bar on the Missouri 



88 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTr HISTORY 



wide of the river was chosen for the scene 
of the battle. It is said that five hundred 
men assembled to witness the event, 
which, however, proved a failure and a 
disappointment. For a moment there was 
a quick exchange of blows, which, ac- 
cording to accounts, were plainly heard 
across the river, a distance of half a mile. 
But the fight was lop-sided, and there 
was murmuring among the onlookers. 
The sledge-hammer blows of Steele were 
too much for the slack endurance of 
Loucks who quietly but quickly yielded 
up the l>elt. 

A Vigilance committee for tlio detect- 
ion and punisluuent of horsethieves v/as 
organized on C edar creek, in 186-2. The 
officers were: 8. N. Nesbit, R. H. N., C. 
E. Fox, A'. S. E, 8. Plotner, W. R. S., 
H. M. Coburn, W. C, J. Chapson, R. K., 
1>. V. Ransom, Secretary. 

On Friday, February 11, 1381, a very 
heavy snow fell. Next day the wind rose 
and the snow drifted high, blocking the 
railroads for nearly a week. 

Pat Barlow and wife received the pre- 
mium at the Fair fur tlie best collection 
of babies.-Chief, Oct. 4, 187 7. 

The first new silver change made its 
appearance in Troy, in May, 18 76. Cy. 
liCland broug'nt $50 of it from St. Joseph 
and gave it out as change. 

In 1871, our County took the lead in 
the State, in barley raising. The harvest 
yielded 22,872 bushels. 

The first telegraph line erected in the 
County was i)ut up about 18(J1. 

The earliest map of the County was 
made by Robert Tracy, in 1808. It show- 
ed congressional and municipal town- 



ships, sections, etc., but was incom})lete. 

From April 1, to June 15, 1849, 1,508 
wagons crossed on the ferries at St. Jo- 
seph, bound for California. 

A pair of couriers sent out by Dr. Say, 
of Major Long's expedition, made the 
record race of their lives on the 29th day 
of August, 1819, when they ran from Cow 
Island in the Missouri (near Atchison) to 
the movith of Wolf River, a distance of 
about thirty miles, to intercept the expe- 
dition boat on its way up the stream, and 
hold it for the arrival of the Doctor and 
liis men who, returning from their prairie 
journey in the West, reached the river a 
day or two after the boat had passed up. 
At that time the prairies were covered 
with a tall, thick grass, Arhich made trav- 
elling extremely difficult, and we may be 
certain that when the Doctor and his little 
party finally reached the mouth of the 
Wolf, they were a glad but tired lot. 

In April, 1874, Col. Ege had a happy 
day in his old age, ejijoying a genuine 
wolf hunt. With his liounds lie started 
up a huo-e gray wolf on the north fork of 
Independence creek, and gave pursuit, 
circling around an area of about s i x 
miles, passing near St. Benedict's church 
and then striking in toward the river. 
The hounds overhauled the game at the 
i-ailroad not far from Doniphan, after a 
race of about twenty miles, and a fierce 
fight ensued, in which the dogs were con- 
siderably cut up. The colonel came up 
and took a hand, when the wolf turned 
the fight on him. He seized his stick of 
timber and dealt the wolf a blow, appar- 
ently killing him. Directing a man who 
accompanied him to take the wolf on his 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



89 



horse in front of him, the two started off 
with their prize; but after riding some 
distance, the beast returned to life, and 
commenced going for the man's legs, 
causing him to drop it; whereupon the 
colonel cut the wolf's throat with his 
pocket knife, killing him "for keeps." 

From 1870 to 1875 scores of cattle and 
horses were killed on the St. Joseph & 
])enver road for which the road never 
paid a cent damages to the owners. A 
suit against the road for damages was al- 
most certain to end in the farmer's losing 
the case. This state of affairs is what 
drove one man to take desperate meas- 
ures to get revenge when it had become 
impossible to get justice. Following is 
a copy of a notice found posted upon the 
St. Joseph & Denver side of the depot at 
Troy Junction, in July, 1872: 

Kansas, July 21st, 1872. 

We hereby notify the St. Joseph & 
Denver City Railroad Company that if 
the stock killing damages heretofore done 
is not paid up before August 1st, and if 
not, all travelling community will travel 
at their own risk, also the future damages 
if not paid in ten days after such damage 
is done. We ask no boon, we crave no 
mercy; but justice we will have, from 
Wathena to St. Francis. 

(Signed) General Cassander and Co. 

Some time after this an attempt was 
made to burn the trestles of abridge near 
Norway. The trestles had been burned 
at their foundation, but their dangerous 
condition was discovered befoj'e the cars 
came along. 

In the spring of 1873, the first complete 
map of the County was made by Robert 
Tracy. Few men of the County did more 



for the people than "Bob" Tracy during 
his residence here. 

At a County Fair held in Atchison, in 
1873, a Doniphan County baby won the 
prize offered the best baby. His name 
was Buster. 

A company of Voluntary Malitia was 
organized at Syracuse, June 20, 1861. 

In July, 1873, there was very high wat- 
er in the Missouri— a belated "June rise." 

John Parker, a Wathena man, killed a 
snake last Friday, on a sand bar in the 
river. It was of the kind known as blue 
racer and had no business out in the win- 
ter time.— Chief, January 6, 189G. 

From the same issue Ave copy the fol- 
lowing: "Jim Brown, the section fore- 
man, caught a grasshopper. This is an 
open winter." 

In October, 1861, some Missouri rebels 
running short of lead for ammunition, 
crossed the river to Lafayette. Stealing 
some 75 feet of lead pipe from the Lyman 
saw mill they melted it into bullets and 
returned without being discovered. 

Nelson Abbey, of Doniphan County, 
has a choice ox which he has long been 
fattening for the entertainment of his 
friends in the event of Lincoln's election. 
Mr. Abbey was for many years a neigh- 
bor of Lincoln's.— St. Joseph Free Dem- 
ocrat, September, 1860. 

In December, 1873, a cock fight be- 
tween Kentucky and Missouri cocks was 
seen at Kansas City. The "Missouri" 
roosters, which belonged to Col. Ege, of 
our County, won all the victories. 

In March, 1873, the sheriff sold two 
engines at El wood, on execution for the 
personal taxes of the Denver road. 



90 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



Xzovey Monteva was at one time a cit- 
izen of this County. We will give a 
copy of our History to the first person 
who shall pronounce this name without 
sneezing. 

In 1866, a 24-page pamphlet, "The 
Western Tier," by I). M. Johnson, was 
published from the office of the Troy 
Re])ortor. 

The Harroun elevator at Elwood cost 
-ing ^1,000,000.00, was completed in 
November, 1899. 

On May 20, 1856, commissions were is- 
sued to officers of the Voluntary Com- 
pany in Donij)lian County called the "Tig- 
ers," as follows: Alex. H. Dunning, Cap- 
tain; Wm. Sublett, First Lieutenant ; 
Chas. M. Thompson, Second Lieutenant; 
Sylvester Hudson, Third Lieutenant. 

High upon the roll of writers for Kan- 
sas must ever remain the names of tvvo 
editors and brave men who had no pap- 
ers—William A. Phillips, correspondent 
of the New York Tribune, and James 
Red})ath, of the St. Louis Democrat, and 
of the Boston press. Phillips a Scotch- 
man, Redpath an Englishman, but both 
Kansas men in the heart, much abused 
as foreigners, they have made bright 
American names.— D. W^. Wilder. 

Father Augustine AVirth, one of Don- 
i})han''s early i)riests, was one of the 
founders of the famous St. Benedict's 
Abbey at Atchison. Many times he made 
the journey from Doniphan to Atchison 
on foot to attend to the spiritual wants 
of a few Catholic families located there. 
In 1860, when the fire of drouth swept 
over the land, it will be gratefully re- 
membered that this good man sent East 



and procured corn and provisions which 
were distributed to the poor at Atchison. 

Zach Mooney and Melvin B a u g h n, 
horsethieves who operated in this and 
other counties in north eastern Kansas 
during the early sixties, shot and killed 
Jessie S. Dennis, and severely wounded 
another man while resisting arrest in 
Nemeha county, in 1866. A reward of 
1600 had been offered for their capture. 
Baughn was captured and imprisoned, but 
soon made his escape from jail. Howev- 
er, he was recaptured and was executed 
at Seneca, on the 18th of September 1868. 

"General" W. P. Richardson and his 
army were in Doniphan County, in 1856. 
Three of the camping grounds are jjoint- 
ed out by old settlers. One is a short 
distance northwest of the present site of 
Severance; another, south and west of 
the farm on which the Oakland school 
house now stands, a few miles from the 
Atchison county line; a third at, or near, 
Cottonwood Springs, south east of Troy. 
It was while encamped in this County 
that the "general" received information 
that "a state of actual war exists in 
Douglas County, and that in other parts 
of the Territory, wirliin this division, 
rol)beries and other flagrant violations of 
the law are daily occurring by armed bod- 
ies of men from the Northern states." 
The quotation is from the "general's" 
letter written from one of his Doniphan 
County camps, August 18, 1856. 

The streets, alleys, parks and public 
grounds of Charleston, Petersl»urg, Le- 
Porte and Mt. Vernon, paper towns of 
the County, were vacated by the Legis- 
lature of 1863-4. 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTS HISTORY 



91 



Seven horses were killed by one train 
on the St. Joseph & Denver i-oad below 
Norway, in May, 1874. 

Two fine County bridges— Bayne's and 
the Leona bridge— were built in 1873. 
Bayne's was 101 feet in length ; Leona's 
77 leet. 

A lady who was visiting at the home 
of Joshua Rittenhouse at the time of the 
great Wolf River cyclone on June 16, 
1865, had 1800 in her trunk. The trunk 
was blown away with the house, and the 
lady never found a dollar of the money 
or a fragment of the trunk. 

In March, 1855, there were in the 
Fourteenth District (this County), 655 
males, 512 females, 301 natives of the 
United States, 46 foreigners, 1 free Negro 
and 35 slaves. The number of legal voters 
was 334, Total population, 1,167. 

In JNIarch, 1867, a mail route was es- 
tablished from Topeka through Holton, 
Kennekuk and Troy. This gave the citi- 
zens of the western part of the County 
better mail services. 

A train of fifty two wagons, six mules- 
attached to each, passed through Wathena 
April 7, 1867, bound for Salt Lake City. 

The macadamized road from Elwood to 
Wathena was completed in June, 1866. 

In "An Act to incorporate the Wathena 
Plank and Macadamized Road Company'' 
published in "The Statutes of the Terri- 
tory of Kansas, 1855", the following are 
named as members of the Company: 

J no. Curd, J. C. Hull, Preston F. Moss, 
Wm. Ridenbaugh, Silas Woodson, Eben- 
ezer Blackiston, Wm. Matthews, Milton 
Bryant, Dan. Vanderslice, Carey B. 
W^hitehead, J. P. Blair, andM. Rodgers. 



In 1867 specimens of lead ore were 
f oiiTld 'in the bluffs near Wathena. At that 
time it w^S' believed that lead in ])aying 
quantities, could be mined from tlie hills 
in the vibinity. . , 

David W. Morse planted the first l)room 
corn in Wolf, RiMer township, in 1857, on 
the farm now owned by Wm. Webb. He 
had a broom factory there until 1861, 
when he closed it; and went into the army. 

The Kansas: Herald, July, 1855, re- 
lates the following of Govenuu' Reeder: 
"On one occasion a gentleman approaphed 
Gov. R., and said he heard a friend at 
Weston, Mo., remark that if Gov. Reeder 
returned to the Territory he would gath- 
er up a company of men, ten thousand if 
necessary, and search every part of the 
Territory, if need be, to find and hang 
him. The governor very cordially thank- 
ed his informant for the intelliofence, and 
remarked: 'Tell your friend that whether 
he comes at the head of ten hundred or 
ten thousand nien, it will make no differ- 
ence ; I shall never be mobbed; and your 
friend, if he makes demonstrations in 
that direction, may rest assured that his 
minutes are numbered,' for I will put a 
ball through his head, though I know I 
shall be cut into inch pieces ten minutes 
afterwards. I shall pursue my legitimate 
business uninterrupted, else the invader 
of my rights shall pay the forfeit.' " 

James H. Lane, very frequently refered 
to as the "grim chieftain" owned a pre- 
emption claim near Doniphan, in 185 7. 
On this land he set up a saw mill and 
made other improvements which he soon 
afterwards sold, in order that he might 
take a more active part in the Border 
troubles. Jim would have done better to 



92 



GKAV\S DONir^tAN OOUN^TV HISTORY 



have held to his Doniphan Couiil)' farit». 

Item from a letter dated "WItii/'heidi, 
June 1, 1854": There is a story ahroad 
that at all the ferries over the IMiriHOun 
river they have a cow tied, and a comroit- 
tee to watch emigrants. They ask, "What 
animal is that?" If the emigrant sayn 
"A cow," he goes over, but if he an;<wef'ft 
"A keow," he is turned back. 

Here is a paragraj»h that was of intercftt 
to the young man of lifty years ago: "At 
half past live o'clock on the morning of 
March 4, 1854, after a night scssio)i, the 
Kansas-Nebraska Bill passed the Senate 
by a vote of 37 to 14. The title of the 
Bill is "An Act to organize the 'I'eri-itor- 
ies of Kansas and Nebraska.' " 

The winter of 1898-9 lacked only 15 
days of being six months long. It began 
the 10th of October with a big snow- 
storm. 

Forty years ago many of the farmers 
and their families went to church in carts 
drawn by oxen, and, strange to relate, 
they were seldom late for the opening of 
the services. 

About the year 1882 the corn planter 
was put aside and the checkrower brought 
into use. A few years later, the lister 
and drill supplanted the checkrower. 

The lirst steam threshing outfit ap- 
l>eared along about 1876, and the cum- 
bersome horse power had to go to the 
iron pile. The engine of the outfit was 
drawn by horses. The traction engine 
soon drove it out of business. 

Very often in the early days Indians 
were induced by the whites to steal horses 
for them. If caught, the Indians stead- 
fastly refused to inform on their abettors, 



taking their punishment in silence. W-' 
find the following in the Chief, October, 
JBtiO: 

"On Sunday, the 23d, three Iowa In- 
dians crossed the river and proceeded to 
the vicinity of Sharp's grove, in Holt 
(knuity, Mo., where they stole three fine 
horses, which they swam across the river 
and took to their village. Maj. Vander- 
sliee, the Indian agent, getting wind of it 
took possession of the horses. On Wed- 
nesday a large body of men came over ii\ 
pursuit of the horses and found them at 
the agency. The horses and three Indian 
thieves were given uj) and taken ov(u- to 
Holt. It is pretty well ascertained that 
some white meii assisted or encouraged 
the Indians in this business, but the lat- 
ter would make no revelations. The In- 
dians were soundly thrashed and sent 
home the same night." 

About March 12, 1862, a rebel named 
Fulton stopped at the house of a widow 
named Hays, near Troy, put his horses 
in the barn, fed them, and made himself 
at home generally. Mrs. Hays remon- 
stn.led, but Fulton paid no attention to 
her. She then sent word to Joe Nixon, 
who responded promptly, ('ailing Fulton 
out of the house, Nixon shot him, seri- 
ously wounding him. 

Doniphan County apples beat all the 
world at the Centennial, in 1876. 

la March, 1876, there was a big snow. 
In a cut a quarter of a mile long, above 
Norway, the snow was twenty-six feet 
deep, and trains were stopped for a week. 
DiffijinM- out the snow was as difficult as 
taking out the original dirt. 

"Pole Pavey," mentioned in Twain's 



(IRArS DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



93 



Ijuok, was a resident of White Cloud in 
1858, and piloted the "White Cloud" on 
the famous expedition up the Nemaha, 
July 4, 18.58. 

On Sunday night, Augxtst 16, there 
was an unusually gorgeous display of the 
auro)"a boreal is. 

T. J. Ingalls says that while making a 
tri}» up in Doniphan County, a few d.iys 
ago, he heard a terrible rumbling near 
the Atchison and I'oiiijihan County line. 
It sounded like a big eruption, or like 
cars crashing together. The sound trav- 
elled from east to west, and seciacr; to 
come from under tlie ground. Ingalls 
was so uiuch interested in the phenome- 
non that he sto]>j>ed at several houseis to 
discuss it, and was told that the remarka- 
ble noise was common in that vicinity. 
Ingalls has bored a great many wellfi and 
says his experience leads him to bel:iiv<^ 
that there is an enormous cavern unuer 
the ground in tjiat vi(;inity, and that th(- 
sound is probably caused by falling jo;:k. 
In boring the vrell at Forest Park, he 
says the drill went through a large <av- 
t.rn, and hundreds of barrels of wat^'r 
WH'r*! pumped into it without tilling it up. 
C "asing linally had to be put down before 
the drilling could l)e continued, delaying 
t!ie jjrogress of drilling for a week. — 
Atchison Globe, 1905. 

'I"'he tliree big earthquakes occurred on 
the following dates: September, 186."), 
April 27, 1867, and October 31, 1895. 

A very large meteor appeared in the 
norlh eastern sky about 9 o'clock on the 
night of December 27, 1875. It was seen 
to bujst into fragments, and about two 
minutes later a report like that of a can- 



non was heard over a wide area of coun- 
try. 

The spring of 1858 brought plenty of 
rain. Immense crops of corn were raised 
by Doniphan County farmers. Jake 
Bursk, near Syracuse, had more corn than 
he knew what to do with. He had a lot 
of it piled up on the prairie and sold it 
to the freighters out of the pile at ten 
cents a bushel. Mr. Bursk used to say : 
"I'm going back to Ohio where I won't 
be bothered with such big crops of corn. 
A man will get rich too quickly out here 
in Kmsas." The next year the crop was 
not eo large, and the year after that, 1860, 
the great drouth came to burn up the 
couiit«y. Five years later Adam Brenner 
v/as paying $1 to !S;1.25 a bushel to Syra- 
cu*<e farmers for their corn and they did 
not have to deliver it, either, Iramenee 
freight wagons with four-inch tires, 
draw by half a dozen yoke of oxen, haul- 
ed the shelled corn froio the farmer's 
cribs across the plains to t h e frontier 
towns. Some time later, n the early 708 
coj'n took anotlbsr tumble i'.<\(] was agai:i 
selling at a discouraging] y low price— fif- 
teen cents a bushel. Not until 1874-6, 
when the grasshoppers became the unwel- 
come guests of the country, did the price 
again advanced to a paying tigure. 

It would appear from the following 
that there vva^ some danger incident to 
travel, even in the early day, through civ- 
ilized landH, and that grandma and grand- 
pa muHt have had considerahU^ courage to 
have ventured on a trip *h)ij1. West. " 

Surijinary of the steam bum disasters on 
the Ohio, MiHsouri, and Mit^nit^Hippi rivers 
during 1854 : 



9i 



UKAY'S DONIPHAN COLTNTr HISTOIIY 



Total steamboats suuk, 71 
" " burned, 23. 

" " destroyed by coUis'u, 9. 

" " exploded, 10. 

" loss of property, $2,570,000.00. 
"■ " life by these calamities, 355. 

During the years 1861-2, a favorite 
crossing place for the Jayhawkers with 
stolen lu rses was at Bellemont, where a 
ferry was owned and operated by a man 
named O'Brien. While the Doniphan 
County soldiers were stationed at Elwood 
this boat was taken into their charge. 
Pat. Kirwan, who later became a lieuten- 
ant, was sent with sixteen men to take 
the boat down stream, that it might be in 
view of the camp. The boat was on the 
Missouri side when Kirwan and his men 
started, but before they had reached the 
Kansas landing, the boat was on its re- 
turn trip to Bellemont. Kirwan and his 
men concealed themselves in the timber 
near the landing, and when the boat land- 
ed they leaped aboard and ordered the 
captain to "put.'er nose down stream.'" 

The Secretary of the State Historical 
Society in answer to a request to prepare 
a historical pajjer has received a letter 
from Hon. J. P. Jo^mson, of Highland, 
in which he says that be is the person 
who ran the first Kansas survey line. 
I'hat was the fortieth parallel line ; the 
line separating Kansas and Nebraska sur- 
veyed in 1854, from the Missouri river to 
the sixth principal meridian. Associated 
with ]Mr. Johnson in making the astro- 
nomical calcuLa-tions ifoi' this survey was 
C'aptain Robeiit Ei. Leey then of the U. S. 
Army, afterwards of the Confedeiacy. 
Mr. Johnson has been a resident of Kan- 



sas since 1854. He is familiar with the 
facts of many stirring events of those 
early times, and it is to be hoped that he 
will put his recollections into writing as 
requested by the Historical Society.— To- 
peka Commonwealth, January, 1878. 

On the afternoon of May 13, 1883, 
a small cyclone from the south west lift- 
ed the roof off the house of the old Jones 
nursery in Troy, then occupied by Frank 
Welton and did considerable damage to 
the ti*ees, etc. This little twister first 
made its appearance in the eastern part 
of Wolf River township on the Lyons 
farm two miles south west of Moray, 
where it tore a door from the dwelling 
house, and destroyed some trees in the 
orchard. Passing on to the Gray farm 
immediately on the north, it broke tbi^ 
tops off some tall cottonwoods in the 
long row extending from the road into 
the field. A small willow tree some four 
or five inclies in diameter, standing in the 
road was twisted around two or three 
times, but was not broken off. The tree 
is still standing and still bears the marks 
of its wrestle with the wind. 

The first time table on the Rock Island 
went into effect on ^'unday, November 

21, 1880. 

In the fall of 1886, 27,000 barrels of 
apples were shipped out of the County. 

Rev. James Shaw, a pioneer Methodist 
preacher, first located at Geary City. In 
1886 he wrote an interesting book entitled 
"Reminiscences of a Pioneer Preacher.'' 

One of the very first school teachers in 
the County ^^■as Charles Rapplye, wlxo 
t.iught Columbus and Palermo, in 1857-S. 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



05 



The first County Fair was held at the 
Troy P'air Grounds, in August, 1808. 

The first men in the County to start in 
quest of a fortune to be made by thresh- 
ing grain was ]joyd aud Sargent, about 
the year 1861. They did woi-k for farm- 
ers in three townships— Wolf River, Cen- 
ter, and Wayne. They had a J. I. Case 
separator propelled by horse power. The 
grain came from the machine in a small 
spout near one of the hind wheels, and 
was caught in a half bushel measure. A 
count of the number of bushels was kept 
by placing pegs in holes m the side of 
the machine. There was no straw-carrier 
for this first machine, the best natared 
of the "hands" being sent to carry away 
the straw and stack it. 

John Doms, who died on his farm mid- 
way between Wathena and Troy, in Sep- 
ember, 1885, was born at Brussels, Bel- 
gium. When a boy his playground was 
the field of the battle of Waterloo, where 
he picked many relics of the famous fight. 
He served in the Crimea and for a port- 
ion of the time was in the employ of Lord 
Raglan, the British commander. After 
the war he travelled in many European 
countries as interpreter to an English offi- 
cer, he having been able to converse in 
four different languages. He was mar- 
ried at St. Peter's cathedral, London. In 
1872, a cyclone destroyed his house, kill- 
ing his wife and leaving him with a fam- 
ily of five little girls who proved them- 
selves excellent little women by helping 
their father keep house. One of the girls 
— Elizabeth — became a writer of very good 
verse. Selections from her writings ap- 
pear in their proper place in the Authors' 
Chapter in this work. 



A few old tl'ading posts on the ^Missou- 
ri are here named: Bellemont, or White- 
head, post was established in tiie spring 
of 1852; Wathena post, established April 
1852; Elwood post, established in tlie fall 
of the same year, and Doniphan post in 
1853. 

A pair of brass galleys originally be- 
longing to the outfit of the Doniphan C'On- 
stitutionalist was for many years pre- 
seiwed in the office of the Chief ])y Sol. 
Miller. Perhaps the pair is still in the 
office. 

John Bro^rn left Chicago for Kansas 

Territory, August 23, 1855, with a 

heavily loaded wagon and reached Ossa- 

! watamie, October 6. He walked beside 

his wagon and shot game for food . 

One of the first, if not the very first, 

j peddlers was Pat Barlow, an eccentric 

I character who, though lame and homely, 

I had the haj)py nack of getting married 

occasionally. There was not a house in 

all the country wliere Pat hadn't sold a 

table cloth or a red handkerchief. He 

died in St. Joseph late in the eighties. 

During the years 1873-4 the County paid 
a bounty of five cents for gopher scalps. 
Some time later a bounty of a nickel was 
offered for rabbit ears and many a boy 
made pocket money until the bounties 
were withdrawn. 

An immense amount of lumber was 
manufactured at White Cloud, Lafayette, 
Iowa Point, Geary City, Palermo, and 
DoniphaJi, during the sixties,. and some 
of it is still doing service. 

Richard J. Gatling, inventor of the 
world-famous Gatling Gun, once wrote to 
Sol. Miller asking him to retract some- 



96 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



Earl Marble was a sentimental, poetic- 
al character, and wore his hair long, flow- 
ing down over his shoulders. In the sum- 
mer of 1860, during the hot political cam- 
paign of that year, one night on the oc- 
casion of some Democratic blow out, 
some of the young southern Chivalry of 
St. Joseph gave a chase to Marble and 
Thompson, clipping oft" Marble's flowing 
locks, and beating Thompson like a car- 
pet. Later, Marble M^ent East and be- 
came editorially connected with the Wav- 
erly Magazine, about 1872. 

The town of Charleston on the Miss- 
ouri flourished for a time, but soon lost 
its vigor and foil into rapid decay. It is 
said that when the j)()j)ulation dwindled 
to two men, these two got into a quarrel, 
one killing the other. 

In the spring of 186:3, pneumonia was 
very prevalent in tlie County, and was 
singularly fatal, battling medical skill. 

A slight earthquake shock was ftlt at 
White Cloud, at 8:30 on the morning of 
August 13, 1865. 

One night in the summer of 1863, Kit 
Williams and Tom Osborn slept in the 
court house yard at Troy. Next morn- 
ing when they went to hunt up the sheriff 
to pay for their night's "lodging" they 
complained to him that the windows of 
their ''hotel" had been left open and that 
they had caught cold. 

In 1872, the ''JJob-tail" railroad M^as 
built from Wathena to Doniphan. A 
few years later the track was removed. 

At the Columbian Fair held in Chicago 
in 18t»3, the State prize for peaches was 
taken by Doniphan County. 



A cable has been shipped from St. 
Louis by the Western Union Telegraph 
Company to sink in the Missouri river 
to connect St. Joseph with Kansas.— 
Wathena Reporter, May 80, 1867. 

This from the Atchison Press of Feb- 
ruary 15, 1867, was discouraging reading 
for the struggling farmers of that trying 
period : 

"A gentleman yesterday brought into 
the oftice a bottle of young grasshoppers 
which he picked up on his farm in this 
vicinity. It appears that the few warm 
days of last week brought these young 
insects to the surface, and that the ex- 
treme cold weather of Friday and Satur- 
day last was not severe enough to kill 
them. Such being the case, we shall 
have a much larger crop of grasshoppers 
the coming season than we had last 
summer. When the warm weather of 
the spring has brought this grand ' army 
to the surface, we shall be eaten up alive, 
unless they take wings and fly away. 
Farmers are much alarmed in anticipation 
of the appearance of this plague. 

A big camp meeting for the Troy, 
White Cloud and Hiawatha Circuits, was 
held on Wolf River, near Quick's bridge, 
April 3 and 5, 1866. 

In the middle sixties there were nine- 
teen postoflices in the County, as follows: 
Columbus, Charleston, Doniphan, El- 
wood, Geary City, Highland, Iowa Point, 
Lafayette, Normanville, Mt. Vernon, Pa- 
lermo, Ridge Farm, Syracuse, Walnut 
Grove, Troy, Wathena, White Cloud, 
Whitehead, and Wolf River. 

In April, 1867, the County Commis- 
^i^ ners purchased 220 acres of land for a 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



97 



poor farm, of Charles Ricliter, "about 
three miles from Palermo, on the Potta- 
watomie road." Consideration, |4,500. 

"Windy Friday," December 4, 1885. 
Twenty-four hours steady blow. 

In September, 1854, Daniel Todd and 
bis entire family consisting of six per- 
sons were kidnapped from their home 
near White Cloud, and taken to Missouri 
where they were sold into slavery. Mak- 
ing escape, Todd joined the Union army. 
After his discharge from the army, he 
gathered up all of his children that he 
could find and returned to White CUuid, 
where he lived for many years afterward. 

Lewis V. Fleming purchased the St. 
Joseph and Elwood ferry of Ebenezer 
Blackiston, in August, 1866, paying him 
$50,000. During the tirst half of the 
following month he crossed to St. Jo- 
seph over 12,000 head of cattle, mostly 
Texan steers. 

Along in the middle seventies engines 
on the St. Joseph & Denver road bore the 
names of the stations painted in beautiful 
letters just under the windows of the cabs, 
and so familiar with the engines were 
many of the boys living near the road, 
that they could give the name of an en- 
gine merely having heard its whistle. 
Many a nickel and dime changed hands on 
bets made between youngsters, and the 
loser lost no time in getting better ac- 
quainted with the engines. In those days 
to get a nodding acquaintance with the 
engineer or tireman Avas an honor much 
sought for by the small boy. Many a 
bunch of wild grapes, and more than one 
liatful of plums fell into the hands of the 
condescending trainmen who, in passing 



up the steep grades, dropped a gallant sa- 
lute to the girls, or tossed a nod to the 
boys gathered beside the the track to see 
the train go by. 

In a railroad wreck which occurred 
about two miles north of Doniphan, Dec. 
3, 1875, two men from Lincoln, Xel)raska, 
were crashed to deatli. 

The Darwin ])ost office was discontin- 
ued in April, 1888. 

May 15, 1859, a hail storm and wind 
did great damage in Wayne township, es- 
pecially at Doniphan, where many houses 
were unroofed or blown down. 

.June 4, 1860, Harriet Newman sold to 
Aaron P. Quick, for $700, a tifteen-year- 
old negro boy named George Washington 
Gater. The bill of sale was acknowl- 
edged before Samuel C. Benight, deputy 
clerk of the Territorial District C^ourt. 

Pat Barlow, famous as a local }>eddler, 
was killed at St. Joseph by an electric 
car, October 6, 1893. 

Father DeSmet, S. .1., passed through 
this country travelling on foot, in 1840. 
He was then on his way to the North 
West Territory to i)reach the Gospel to 
the Indians. As he journeyed across the 
country following the general direction 
of the St. Josej)h and Oregon Trail, he 
collected plants and wild flowers, classing 
and catalogizing them, for he was a Nat- 
uralist as well as a preacher. 

Miss Elizabeth Turkleson, who success- 
fully tilled the position of assistant, prin- 
cipal of the Troy Higli School for four 
years, carried off the honors at a Teachers' 
examination held in June, 1904, in St. 
Joseph, for positions in the city schools. 
Her average was 91 [>er cent. There were 



98 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTV HISTORY 



Mftv foiiv other applicants, and but nine 
of theui ]>assed. jMiss Turkleson is onp 
of the best teachers in this part of the 
State. She is a daughter of C. O. Tur- 
kleson, one of the very early settlers in 
north eastern Wolf River township. 

"N'otes were cast in three different towii- 
ships in the County at the election held 
March -iO, 18o5. Returns as follows: ; 

I)ord[)'ian — Pro->lavery votes, 31;]; 
Wolf River, 57; Huii-Oak, 256. Doni- 
plian— Free Soil, oO ; \\'olf River, 1;5 ; 
liurr-Oak, -l. Donipliau— Scattering, o ; 
Wolf River, 6; Biur-Oak, 48. Total, 
Doniphan, :U1 ; V>'olf River, 78 ; Burr- 
Oak, 3U(J. Toal legal, i!00; illegal, a.JO; 
Number voters, 33-1-. 

Miss Eva IJyan's "Literary Women of 
Brown County'" apjieared in October 18U4. 
Miss Ryan was a Severance girl. 

The jiost oil ice at Orr Station was os- 
tablishetl in .January, 18U4, with Luke 
Clem as postmaster. 

A good authority states that M a r y 
Hempstead Keeney, the second wife of 
Manuel Liza, Avas the first white woman 
to ascend the Missouri river, passing the 
green shorelands of wluit is now Doni- 
phan County. 

Times were hard in the s])ringof 1858. 
A saw mill was sold by a constable to 
])ay a debt of foi'ty dollars, and a house 
and lot were sold to satisfy a debt of 
thirty dollars. The owner of the last 
named property knew nothing of the leg- 
al transaction until it was over. 

Wm. Kirby, of Doniphan, published 
his book, "^lormonism Ex})osed"''' in July, 
1893. 



A Doniphan County man, C harles W. 
Stewart, suggested the name of St. Joseph. 
He also suggested naming the streets run- 
ning east and west for Robidoux's chil- 
dren. 

One of the first Fourth of July cele- 
brations in the County was at a point ou 
Rock Creek below the present site of 
Brenner, in 1859. Col. Ege v^'as one of 
the speakers on the occasion ; also some 
Mexican war soldiers made talks. Late 
in the day there came up a big hail. The 
stones were very large. They broke all 
the panes in the north windows, and left 
deep dcUts in the doors. Many a gay 
picuicer got his head thumped that even- 
ing. 

In. June, 1SS6, the Rock Island began 
securing abstracts of titles of land for the 
rigiit of way of the ruad. This was the 
lirsl sign of a ''sure •j;o."' 

April 3, 1885, lightning struck the 
powder magazine on Prospect Hill in St. 
.Joseph, and exploded six thousand pounds 
of powder. The shock was plainly felt 
at Wathena and Troy, windows having 
been cracked at the former place, by t!ie 
concussion. 

The County has bcL^n visited by two 
very remarkable hail storms. The first 
came on the Fourth of July, 1857. The 
second came May 28, 1899, passing over 
the northern townships. The hail re- 
mained in heaps three to four feet deep 
for many days. While the first great 
storm was remarkable for the size of the 
stones that fell, the second was noted for 
the depth of the hail drifts. 

January 13, 1899, the mercury stood at 
30 degrees below zero, and there was a 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTV HISTORY 



99 



great deal of suffering-. One year later, 
on the same day of the month, the mer- 
cury stood at 60 degrees above zero. 
There was no frost in the ground. Goph- 
ers were at work. After a few heavy 
rains the skies cleared up and there was a 
period of spring weather. There was not 
a particle of ice in the creeks. 

The White Cloud Chief reported a 
plague of locusts in June, 1862. "They 
may he heard night and day, and are to 
be found on every busii. We have seen 
nothing like it since the days of Pha- 
roah." 

On May 17, 1857, School Districts Nos. 
1, 2, 3, and 4 were organized. 

The highest point in the County is said 
to be Mount Lookout, near Eagle Springs. 
Another elevated point is Schwab Hill, 
half of a mile east of Bendena. 

It is now a rare sight to see a young 
lady working in the Held with her broth- 
ers. The complexion of the girl of today 
would scarcely permit her to venture for 
any length of time beyond the barn, but 
it may truthfully be said of many of the 
old girls (of course they are married long 
ago) that they helped their brothers make 
the County out of doors, for there was 
no work on the farm that they would not 
cheerfully undertake. And what they 
imdertook usually was done well. It was 
no unusual sight to see a young lady at 
work shocking wheat, raking hay, or ev- 
en plowing corn. Of course those girls 
could not boast of having lily-white arms 
and hands, and peach blossom complex- 
ions, but they had brave hearts, healthy 
bodies, and clear minds ; and time has 
proved that they had the virtues and qual- 



ities that go to make good wives, and 
mothers. 

How numy of our young men have read 
the old story of "Harry and the Guide- 
Post"? How many know what a guide- 
post is? Thirty years ago the gnidepost 
was the travelers' encyclopedia. It stood 
with its sj>reading arms at a cross-roads, 
indicating both distance and direction of 
the towns which, at that time, were "few 
and far between." "To Kennekuk, 20 
miles," "To Troy, 9 miles,"" "To Syra- 
cuse, -i miles," once familiar signs on the 
prairie, long ago have been torn down, 
and we venture to say that no young man 
of the ])resent generation has ever seen 
even the remains of one of those old time 
friends. 

Colonel Ege heard the fanious debate 
between V/ebster and Hayne. He walk- 
ed sixty mih's to be present. 

According to the following statement, 
our state was a lonely place half a century 
ago: 

Tliere is not, at this moment, August 1, 
1854, a town or village in Kansas or 
Nebraska. — P2. E. Hale in "Kanzas and 
Nebraska." 

As late as 185 7, IJrown County people 
received their mail from tlie Iowa Point 
post othce. There was an ox-team mail 
weekly, kept up by local contribution. 

We will continue to tar and feather, 
drown, lynch, an<l hang every white-liv- 
ered Abolitionist who dares to ]>ollute 
our soil. ---St.] natters' Sovereign, August 
28, 1855. 

The famous "Squatters" Sovereign As- 
sociation" was formed June 24, 1854, at 
J. R. Whitehead's, near Bellemont. 



CHAPTER X. 



HUTSHSLL HISTORY, 



(Contixued) 



Duriiiji' tlio liitter sixties, Dovi Thorn- 
ton, Alex liiown, and Jolin Etlierton 
were popular violin players afdances given 
in eastern Iowa townshi}). 

The po}tulatioii oi" the County in 1860 
was 8,080, and for nearly five years dur- 
ing the war, there was no increase in the 
number of new settlers. l>ut there were 
plenty of boys and girls born (biring that 
period . 

Wm. A'. (4ordon, who for many years 
was a farmer near White Cloud, iiad some 
exciting experiences in the Indian Tt rri- 
tory and the West, in the years 1867-8-9, 
when the Indians were so troublesome. 
He was v/ith (leneral Custer in the fam- 
ous battle of the Washita, which took 
place on the morning of November 27, 
1868, ami in which 108 Indians, incbid- 
ing the great chief I>lack Kettle, and 21 
whites were killed. About the same time 
lie was in a five days'" fight with the Indi- 
ans along tiie Cimarron river, and was 
one of the five men who fought 200 red- 
skins in the Sand Hills south of the Can- 
adian river in the Indian Terr itory. 

Dr. Richard Jordan Catling, inventor 



of the world famous Gatling Gun, was 
for some time a resident of White Cloud 
where, in 1857, he became president of 
the town company. D. W. Wilder in a 
speech made at the quarter-centennial at 
Topeka, in 1886, stated that Gatling ma- 
tured his invention in Doniphan County. 
In the Scientific American, March 2, 18- 
72, we find the following: 

"The inventor of this wonderful arm 
is Dr. Richard J. Gatling, at the time of 
its discovery a resident of the city of In- 
dianapolis, in the state of Indiana, but 
now of Plartford, Connecticut. He first 
conceived the idea of a machine gun in 
1861, and is justly i>rou I of the distinct- 
ion of being the originator of the first 
successful weapon of the kind ever in- 
vented. His first "battery" or gun was 
completed in that city (Indianapolis) in 
the early part of the year 1862, and his 
first American patent bears date Novem- 
ber 4tli of the same year." 

In the early days, peculiar but appro- 
priate names were given to the forks of 
Murray's branch, a tributary to Inde- 
pendence creek having its source in the 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



101 



neighborhood of Prairie Grove, now the 
site of Bendena. The west fork of the 
branch was called "Girl's creek" on ac- 
count of there having been born so many 
members of the female sex in that locali- 
ty, while the west branch was aptly nam- 
ed "Boy's creek", because the place was 
fairly alive with lusty youngsters from 
the father's side of the house. There 
used to be some jolly, old time sport in 
the winter when the representatives of 
the two creeks met at the fork. In day 
time it was skating down the frozen tide; 
at night, heel and toe were merry with 
the dance which lasted until the fiddler 
fainted from exhaustion, or the bow was 
broken in desperation. 

Although the winters of the sixties 
were rather cold, overcoats were not then 
in general use. Many of the pioneers 
wore blankets. One old man in particu- 
lar attracted attention to his blanket by 
telling wonderful stories concerning it. 
The blanket was old and full of holes, 
and it was hinted at in the stories that 
the holes had been made by the arrows 
of the Indians ; but the stories were not 
often credited. The owner of this won- 
derful wrap said and did many ridicu- 
lous things, but the most ridiculous 
thing he is said to have done was to trade 
his ox-team for a barrel of whiskey. 

During the publication of the St. Jo- 
seph Democrat, when things were pretty 
hot (on account of the rescue from jail of 
Dr. Doy) Dr. E. H. Grant left the count- 
ry for safety, leaving his wife to edit the 
paper. At the time there was a hot dis- 
cussion of local politics going on bet- 
ween the "Democrat" and the "West," 



1 which was edited by E. Y. Shields. He 
acknowledged tliat he could not hold con- 
troversy with a woman, declaring that if 
any man would assume the responsibility 
of Mrs. Grant's editorials, he would at- 
tend to his case. Joseph Thompson, one 
of the three editors of the Geary City 
Era, of 1857, a brother of Mrs. Grant's, 
offered to meet Shields. Shields prompt- 
ly challengcMl Thorn J)Soti to tight a duel. 
I They met at Elwood, but their difficult- 
lies were settled without bloodshed. 

I As late as 187:}, deer were found on 
head waters of Wolf River. 

Dr/ring the winter of 1872-;{ the epi- 
zootic plague attacked the horses. 

On the afternoon of July 4, 1873, a 
terrible gale struck the ^Missouri River at 
St. Jo8ej)h, destroying the steamer 
"Mountaineer", driving it against one of 
the piers of tlie l)ridge which it demolish- 
ed. Consid(M-aljle damage was done on 
both sides. 

Here is a paragraph from a Savannah, 
Mo., newspaper of date December 1857, 
concerning ('liarleston : 

"This tliriving village over the river 
has now a city government in full blast. 
The Board of Trustees is composed of 
Judge Byrd, Mayor; ('lias. IJ. Hamilton, 
Josiah VanBiiskirk, John B. Brady, and 
Charles B. IJyrd, Trustees, and Rev. Al- 
ward, clerk. Business is opening widely 
for the winter, and coal banks in the 
neighborhood are being worked by Welch 
miners. We understand that coal can be 
delivered in this place from the Charles- 
ton mines when the river closes, for 25 
cents a bushel. Who will not use grates 
then? 



102 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



Corn was so cheap in 1878, that it was 
extremely used for fuel. "And the next 
year the grasshoppers came." 

In August, 1872, an engine and four 
or five box cars were tlirowu from the 
track about a mile below Norway. Some 
malicious person had placed a spike on 
the track. 

Agricultural statistics of the County 
for 1871: 

Bushels of wheat, 259,764. 

" "' rye, 4,66(5. 

barley, 71,685. 

" " corn. 1,290,666. 

" '• buck wh., 728. 

" " oats, 171,485. 

Gallons wine, 26,296. 

" sorghum, 13,185. 

Pounds hemp, 921,222. 

A Avoman named (Idll living on Welsh's 
branch had an exciting Iwttle with wolves 
one day early in the sixties. A pack of 
these hungry animals cisnie up from Wolf 
River and attempted to get away with a 
green cow hide at tlie lady's door, 'i'hey 
were making iiway with it when overtak- 
en by Mrs. Goll, wlio caught hold of it 
and j)ulled it away from them, but not 
until there had Ix'cn an exciting struggle. 

This interesting advertisement is from 
the Chief, June 4, 186:5: 

WAN']' ED— -Two modest young "Jay- 
hawkers'' wlio have no dear ones at home 
to cheer them with a kindly word, earn- 
estly desire to correspond Avith as many 
fair maidens ; and to this end would re- 
spectfully petition to the {)retty girls of 
Brown and Doniphan Counties, hoping 
to find some Avillintr to cheer them with 



a friendly line. All communications to 
be strictly confidential. Address 
Harry Walcome, 
or Tom Channing, 

Co. C, 7th Kans. Vols., 
Corinth, Miss., 
June 4, 1868. via Memphis. 

A correspondent of the St. Louis Re- 
publican, writing from Elwood, K. T., 
in August, 1857, says: 

"A man who lives on his claim near 
the edge of this city is, perhaps, the old- 
est man in America. He is Mr. James 
O'Toole. He was born in the county of 
Donegal, in the north of Ireland some- 
where about the year 1730. He was an 
old man in the Irish rebellion, in 1798, 
when, becoming implicated with Lord 
Fitzgerald, he tied his country to seek 
freedom in our young republic. He mov- 
ed to St. Louis thirty years ago and es- 
tablished the first brewery there. He 
moved to the Platte Purchase in 1838, 
and lived in Buchanan County, near 
Bloomington, until two years ago, when 
he came to Kansas and made a pre-emp- 
tion, and he can now walk eight or ten 
miles with ease. He says his age is about 
125 years. 

Queer paragraphs from the old papers 
of the East, about Kansas and the West: 

W anted . —One h und red able bodied 
lawyers are wanted to break prairie lands, 
split rails and chop wood in the new 
West.— Philadelphia Post, 1855. 

Inscription found on the head board of 
a grave on the Oregon Trail: 

Mr. J — H — was carried away 
By the diarrhea and cholera. 

A Mr. Thompson, of Kansas Territory, 



GiiAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTOUY 



103 



has, it is said, just completed a prairie 
ship, or wagon, to be propelled by the 
wind, in which he proposes, with thirty 
companions, to make a voyage to the 
Kocky Mountains next June.— Saturday 
Evening Post, September 22, 1865. 

A letter addressed to "Bleeding Kan- 
sas" was received at the St. Louis post- 
office on September 11, 185*7. It had 
been mailed at St. Joseph. The follow- 
ing endorsements liad been written upon it: 
"Lawrence refuses to receive it." , 
"Must be Lawrence." 
"No sir, Kansas has pretty much stopped 
bleeding." 

"Take the hide off and salt it well." 
"Pass it around; we don't want it here- 
send it where it bleeds." 
"I don't see any place to direct." 
"Send it to Lawrence, for old Jim Lane 
Mall be there in a few days." 
"Try it oyer at Iowa Point." 
"Doniphan's been bleeding." 
"Doniphan: Keep this up there for God's 
sake, for there's more blood lost there 
than anywhere else." 

"Doniphan don't bleed; try it at Utah." 
"No such place in Kansas, for it has been 
all over the Territory. Let it travel in 
Missouri awhile." 

Up to about 18V0 there existed a prej- 
udice against the use of kerosene lamps, 
for many a warning against them had ap- 
peared in the newspapers. Gradually the 
candle and the tallow dip disappeared, 
and the lamp with its bowl interiorly dec- 
orated with strips of bright calico float- 
ing in the oil, began to reflect its warm 
smile over the household. A few years 
later all the old tire[»laces were built in, 



boot-jacks were banished to the wood- 
shed, carpets were laid on the floors and 
the people began to enjoy the risky de- 
lights of civilizatioTi. 

We quote a few paragrai)lis from a chap- 
ter in Redpath's book, on "What to take 
to Kansas," published in 1859: 

The Missouri water is muddy, and has 
a laxative eft"ect. It almost invariably 
produces diarrhea. A bottle of claret 
wine, or a small flask of good brandy is 
recommended for "medical purposes" to 
persons who have never previously trav- 
elled on this river. Notwithstanding its 
filthy and dusty appearance, however there 
is not in the LTnion, it is claimed, more 
healthy water than that of Missouri.— 
Advice VII. 

Before leaving St. Louis, as the voyage 
is apt to be somewhat tedious, especially 
if the steamer runs aground, you had bet- 
ter buy one or two pleasant books to pe- 
ruse on the way.— Advice VIII. 

Children under fourteen are charged 
half price; under four, free.— Advice XI. 

Colt's eight-inch and six-incli pistols 
are the only side arm^ worth carrying. 
Sharpe's carbine is not of much use, but 
his target rifle is a splendid weapon. 
Bowie knives are for ruffians only. Each 
squatter should own a shot gun. — Advice 
XV. 

Let your trunk, if you have one to buy, 
be of a moderate size, and of the strong- 
est make. Test it by throwing it from 
the top of a three story building; if pick- 
ed up uninjured, it will do to take to 
Kansas. Not otherwise.— Advice XVI. 

There are in Leavenworth 114 lawyers 
and judges.— Churchman, April 5, 1860. 



104 



GblAY'S IXJNIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



Balls of ice weighing over one pound 
each, fell in a recent storm in the Keno- 
sha valley, Kansafl.— Churchman, May 24, 
1860. 

In August, 1866, a short time after 
the closing preformance of a oho w in Troy, 
it was discovered that three or four good 
horses that had been hitched to the rack 
at the public square had been stolen. 
Half a dozen citizens of the town and 
country went immediately in pursuit of 
the thieves. One of the horses was re- 
covered, but the thieves were not discover- 
ed for some time. At last, however, 
they were found hiding in the south west- 
ern corner of Missouri. They were 
brought back to Troy fastened toget'ier 
with chains. I'he men had their trial, 
were found guilty and sent to the peni- 
tentiary for ten years. 

The widow of Osawatoniie Brown has 
received $30,000 from her colored sym- 
pathizers in Hayti.— Churchman, June 14, 
1860. 

Here is a brief ghost story for your 
consideration. It ha]»pened near Troy, 
in March, 1881: 

"A man was on his death bed when 
suddenly a strange looking animal ap- 
peared in the room, having some what the 
appearance of a dog, with long, black 
hair all over it. Four or live ])er8on8 
were in the room and saw it. Then it 
suddenly disappeared, no one could tell 
how or where, as the door was closed, 
and it could not be found anywhere." 

There are 164 bridges in the County as 
follows: 117 iron, 33 trestles, 13 combin- 
ation, and one built on stone abutments. 
Seven ii'on bridges rest on iron tubes, 16 



on iron columns and the remainder on oak 
and red cedar piling. These bridges with 
their approaches average about 60 feet of 
flooring which would make about one and 
three fourth miles of floor. There are 
seven county bridges on the Brown coun- 
ty line; four are iron and three are trestle. 
There are four bridges on the Atchison 
county line, one iron and three combina- 
tion. 

During the winter of 188.5-6, cholera 
claimed about 14,000 hogs. 

The good, old fashioned turkey shoot- 
ing match has become a thing of the past. 
In tiie early days all the towns were en- 
livened about Thanksgiving and C'hrist- 
mas by the holding of shooting matches 
in which great and universal interest was 
taken. Some way or other the old fash- 
ioned man with the long hair and the red 
whiskers used to win the lion's share of 
the turkeys with his Kentucky squirrel 
rifle, while owners of modern arins used 
often return home empty handed and dis- 
couraged. In later years resort to the 
use of cards and dice robbed these meet- 
ings of all fun and romance, for the imp 
of luck usurped the place of the god of 
skill. 

In the Lewis and Clark's journal of the 
Missouri exploration in 1804, there is ev- 
idence that this section of the country 
was inhabited by white men at least nine- 
ty tive years ago. Their journal states 
that two miles after passing Monter's 
creek, they passed "some cabins" on the 
south side of the river. This place is a- 
bout where the old town of Lafayette 
was located, and where Levi Kunkle now 
lives. Paul Allen, the writer of Lewis 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



105 



and Clark's reports, says that one of the 
party had wintered at one of these cabins 
two years before, which would be ninety- 
live years ago. But these cabins had 
been occupied by traders and trappers, 
some time before, no one knows how 
long, but probably 100 years ago. The 
number of cabins is not given in Allen's 
reports. The white people who ncade 
their homes along the Missouri river in 
those days were har.ters and traders and 
were usually French. They dealt in the 
things that were most in demand among 
the Indians, including always a plentiful 
supply of whiskey which they obtained 1 
in exchange for robes and furs, which ' 
were sent down the river to St. Louis.— 
Scrap Book 

In our rounds we discovered an old 
bai'ley fork that saw service thirty years 
ago. It is quite a curiosity now in this 
country where little or no barley is sown. 
During the early seventies barley was ex- 
tensively raised in this County, and al- 
though there was much work wit;\ it. its 
raising paid the farmer well. Rain on it 
spoiled its color and decreased its market 
value. Good, bright barley brought from 
seventy-live cents to a dollar and a quart- 
er a bushel until late in the seventies. 
The older men of the County need no de- 
scription of the barley fork ; neither will 
it be necessary to remind them that the 
work of harvesting, stacking and thresh- 
ing the barley was laborious and disagree- 
able, for no man who has ever had a bar- 
ley beard down the back of hia neck, or 
in his eye, will ever forget what the bar- 
ley harvest meant. But t!ie young folks 
may be interested in a des<;ription of the 



fork. It was made almost entirely of 
wood. There were four prongs three feet 
in length, bent slightly upward. There 
was also a brace of wire just above the 
place where the handle was joined to the 
head, to hold the loose straws when the 
fork was raised to the wagon, for the 
prongs, instead of entering the straw 
after the manner of tlu^ pitcli fork, pass- 
ed under it, as a shovel passes under the 
loose dirt. It was scarcely any heavier 
than an ordinary pitch fork, but was very 
awkward in the hands of one unused to it. 

A few of the early settlers on the high 
prairies surrounded their first forty acres 
by ditches dug five feet deep, and from 
six to seven feet wide. It required an 
immense amount of labor, but the [>ioneer 
was ]>oor and lumber very dear. 

We believe that the grasshoppers have 
actually connnenced their Hight. Every 
day for a week past, especially in the af- 
ternoons, by taking a survey of the air. 
in the direction of the sun, myriads of 
grassho]>])eis could be seen, making their 
way steadily toward tlie north east. They 
flew so high, that tliey- could not be seen 
by the naked eye, except on a range be- 
tween the eye and the sun; and they 
could be seen, as high as sight could pen- 
etrate, appearing like silver particles in 
the atmosphere, as thickly as flakes in the 
heaviest snow-storn). By going so high 
they must travel all day witliout resting. 
Judging from the speed with wliich they 
move, the six miles a day theory is thrown 
far in the background. Tkey could make 
50 or 75 miles a day easily. Persons 
have seen them leave this neigliborhood 
in immense numbers. 



106 



GUAV'S DONIPHAN COUNTS HISTORY 



The giasslioppers have totally destroy- 
ed many tiehls of oats and s])ring wheat 
in this part of the country, while others 
they have hardly touched. C-orn will not 
suffer so disastrously, if the destroyers 
leave speedily ; however there are very 
many that are not yet able to tiy. We 
pity the country where the [tests next 
make a halt.— C'liief, July 4, 1867. 

The Slireve family at Wliite Cloud at 
one time owned a letter written to Grand- 
father Israel Nhreve by President George 
Washinuton, 179-1. A formerly of Troy 
man. W . 1). Webb, owned a letter writ- 
ten by Tiiomas Jefferson, arid there is 
now in the private [lapers of Major Dan- 
iel Vandersliee, a letter written to the 
Major by C harles Carroll, of CarroUton. 

Early in the days of the war of the Re- 
bellion the citizens of this County lived 
in peri)etual dread lest the Missouri 
''Bushwhackers"' should come over the 
river and murder them, while the peo- 
ple of Buchanan county slept with one eye 
open to watch the Kansas "Jay hawkers" 
who were expected every night to kill 
and rob them of their goods. Time has 
proved that there were goo<l and bad men 
on both sides of the river. 

Mr. E. D. ]\IcClellan, who visited us 
yesterday, says there is now at Miller's 
farm, four miles this side of Troy, a boy 
who claims his name is Miller, and that 
he was taken from St. Joseph when about 
three years of age, or at least he was told 
so by the chief of the Commanches, with 
whom he had lit'cn staying, and who is a 
white man named Scott. Scott says he 
robbed a bank in this city at an early day— 
probably refrring to the roobbery of Jo- 



seph Robidoux Sr., twenty -eight years ago 
by three men named Scott, Brown, and 
Davis. The boy is apparently twenty 
years old. He says he left the Indians in 
New Mexico about eight weeks ago, and 
made his way to New Orleans, and then 
came to this place to hunt his relatives, 
whom, he was told by Scott, he would tind 
here. He is about six feet tall; appears 
intelligent; s})eaks the language distinctly 
but imperfectly; seems to know little of 
the white man's ways; and has a limited 
vocabulary. He has peculiar marks on 
liis l\ands and feet that would enable his 
parents to recogni.',e him. His relatives 
have not yet been found. He says three 
<i iris were taken by the Indians at the 
same time he was taken, and returned with 
him to St. Joseph. They are nearly his 
own age and speak only the Indian lan- 
ijuage. He thinks they are now at the 
home of their uncle in this city. He says 
he has been all over the West, and that 
Scott is an influential Indian chief .—St. 
Joseph Gazette, October, 1870. 

Early hay story: Along in the sixties, 
the grass in the W'olf River bottoms oft- 
en trrew to a arreat heitrht. Old timers 
say that it grew "tall as willow trees," 
and again, "tall as a man's head on horse 
back." 



•In* 



(!.,, 



CHAPTER XI. 



/mSCSLLAHeOUS SKGTCHeS. 



The Grange- 

Following is a list of the Grange lodges 
and principal officers for January, 1874: 

Master. Sec^y- 

Ridge Prairie, 

W.D. Rippey, D.W.Edwards. 
Peter's Creek, 

E. D. McClelland, T. Vories. 
Summit, 

Joel P. Blair, J. B. Erskine. 
Central, 

J. M. Tracy, T.B. Henshall. 
Independence, 

Jonn L. Blair, G. \V. Lancaster. 
Brush Creek, 

D. C. Hastings, W..W. Bullock. 
Walnut Grove, 

S. M. Gilmore, Iloyd ^Martin. 
Jeffers, 

A. R. Jeffers, James Williams. 
Prairie Grove, 

J. Robbins, Ed. Heoney. 
Wolf River, 

D. Reese, J. Jenkins. 
Severance, 

C. N. Devine, 8. J. Elgerly. 



Fanning, 

Wm. Gurwell, J. J. Bradley. 
Oakland Grove, 

G. W. Henderson, S. W. Hinckly' 
Marion, 

Jos. Kandolpli, T. J. .ALcClelland' 
Willow Springs, 

L. S. Flick, T. B. Herring. 
Cedar Creek, 

J. A. CMia))son, John Parker. 
Arnold, 

A. J. Martin, J. W. Pennv. 



The (Ireat Slcj^t. 

F'ebruarv 5 and G, 1881, were the days 
of tlie greatest sleet ever known in this 
part of the country. TJie following par- 
agraphs gh'aiK'd from a description of the 
storm, published at the tinu'. may not be 
uninteresting: 

"Satunlay morning (oth) tlie face of 
the eartli was covered with ice, and the 
sleet still falling. It continued to fall 
with scarcely any intc-rruption, through 
the day, and at hedtime Avas still falling. 
The trees were heavily weighted with ice 
and were bending under the burden. To- 
ward midnight the trees began to sue- 



108 



GRAVES DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



cumi) to tlu' pressure. From tliat time 
continually through the niijht, at very 
short intervals, a sharji, brief snap would 
be heard, and then a ringinjur, metallic 
sound as limb after limb parted from the 
trees, and fell with its icy load upon the 
icy earth beneath. 

"A view of forests, groves and or- 
chards, on Sunday morning was a sight 
worth seeing, notwithstanding the havoc. 
Many trees were completely broken down; 
others had large branches broken off ; 
others liad tops and all branches gone, 
and nothing but the straight trunk re- 
mained. The groun<l underneath looked 
as if the pruner had been there and left 
the remains of his work behind him. The 
trees that were not l)roken were bent un- 
der the sleet, looking like wee)>ing wil- 
lows. During Sunday it was impossible 
to go through orchards.. The branches 
were bent and bowed to the ground, and 
so laden with i(U' and interlaced, that one 
could not make his way through. 

"The destruction in Doniphan County 
will be many thousand dollars. Sliade 
and ornamental trees, and groves pluutcd 
by fanners, are fearfully damaged. 

"A gentleman who lives near the Miss- 
ouri river, says that all through Saturday 
night and Sunday morning, he could hear 
the limbs falling from the immense trees 
in the bottom, on the Missouri side, and 
the crashing, thundering sound that con- 
stantly came uj> from the deep woods was 
sublime. A hurricane could scarcely have 
done greater damage." 

The author of this History was but a 
boy when this storm occurred, but he has 
a distinct recollection of it. One scene 
impressed itself more strongly on his 



mind than any other. A tall, straight 
willow tree standing within a stone's 
throw of his home was bent with its top 
quite to the ground, forming a most beau- 
tiful arch about twenty feet in height, or- 
namented with a ton of glittering ice. 
There was a temptation to get up and 
"squirrel it" over the icy arch, but he 
satisfied himself by touching the to}> of 
the tree usually so high from the ground, 
but then bound to earth by the chains 
of the ice monarch. When the ice melt- 
ed, the trunk resumed its natural position 
and stood for many years a straight and 
beautitul tree. 



Base Ball (Jame. 

Tiie match game of base ball between 
the merchants and lawyers of Troy came 
off last Friday forenoon (August 6, 1875). 
We were there in person to report the 
game, and therefore this account may be 
relied upon. One hour was taken up in 
disputing and quarreling as to who should 
and who should not play. 

The lawyers wanted Manny Reville, 
because they said he was a lawper, but 
the merchants objected to any profession- 
al player being admitted. He was finally 
let in. Then the law/jrs brought forth 
Babcock and Seaver, contending that they 
belonged to the Troy Bar. The mer- 
chants disputed their right, as to their not 
living ill Troy; l)ut finally Babcock was 
admitted. Then the merchants wanted 
to take in Len Noyes or Jim Reville, 
clerks in stores and professional players, 
to pit against Manny Reville. The law- 
yers would not consent. W. P. Russell 
did not put in an appearance, and his 
place had to be filled. After much grum- 



GliAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



109 



bling by the lawyers, "old man Reese" 
was allowed to till his place. Thus after 
both sides had jerked on their coats sev- 
eral times, to quit and go home, the game 
was made up, the lawyers having the de- 
cided average in selecting players, 

Os. Marcum was scorer. Gene Brown 
acted as umpire, until they exhausted him, 
when George Hagenbach took his place. 

N. B. Woods took the bat, and sent 
the ball to the right held, where iSilver- 
raan tried to catch it in his hip pocket, 
but it took him on the rump. Wood got 
in on time. Perry ran in on a nick of 
time, and worked his way home b}"^ watch- 
ing the corners. 

Webb hit the ball a fine clip and scoot- 
ed. Between first and second his hat 
flew off; but Mcintosh's Willie grabbed it 
up and followed. They both got home 
safely— Willie a little ahead. 

Reville took the ball a gaul-snorter, 
sending it through center field. 

It was fun to see Manny and Van Bus- 
kirk trying to get out of its way— neither 
having any life insurance. Reville came 
home in good style. 

Col. Johnson was the next to the bat, 
and Stout on deck. The day was begin- 
ning to get sweltry, and Stout resembled 
the boy that stood on the burning deck. 
Johnson then took the ball on the end of 
the bat, and after every man on the 
ground had yelled for him to run, he 
started off. Upon reaching second base 
it occurred to him that Wood and Webb 
had run ahead of him. He knew that 
tliey had beaten him once, and it dis- 
couraged him. He did not get home. 

Stout took the bat and lit out for three 
strikes. Some one called for judgement 



on the balls. Judgement overruled, and 
Stout went ahead. 

Reaching third base, he was about 
blowed out when some one cried out that 
there was a man in the crowd who want- 
ed to borrow some money on real estate. 
Stout made one more effort and got home 
safely. 

Babcock liit theball a gentle belt and 
worked hiniself home. 

Heatly missed the ball three times and 
went out on a writ of error. 

George Woods got in a fine hit, and 
being young, long legged, and having a 
gO(Hl conscience, he made his run. 

Now the merchants came to time, im- 
pressed with the feeding that honor of 
the yard stick and sugar scoop were at 
stake. 

L^land hit the ball a square lick, aTid 
sent it over somewhere toward J ni But- 
ler's house, and made a liome run, while 
the umpire and an outsider were disput- 
ing whether it was a foul or not. As a 
good icany fowls were supposed to go 
down that way, the umpire t!iought the 
ball might as well go in with tlie rest. 
He declared it a foul and Lcland had to 
try it over. 

Wilson gave the ball a sky winder send- 
ma it so hiofh that it was taken for a 
grasshopper. It fell plump into Wood's 
hands. As the ball was in the pitcher's 
hand, the umpire decided that Wilson 
was out. 

Joe Craney came prepared to run. 
Fearing that the wind might retard his 
progresH, by coming in contact with his 
bushy locks, he had the top of his head 
shaved; but as he didn't hit the ball, he 
had no occasion to run. His foresight 



110 



GKArs DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



was not quite as good as his hindsight. 

Van Buskirk struck the ball wickedly 
and got home on time. It was feared 
that his long connection with the busi- 
ness of chicken raising would cause him 
to make a foul, but he didn't. 

Silverman struck at a fly and hit the 
ball accidentally, but tliey decided that 
he must run. He would have failed in 
getting home, but some one told him that 
Dan Bursk would follow him, and make 
it a rule to run over everybody that was 
in his way, Silverman made it. 

Dan Bursk took the bat and after miss- 
ing about seven times, demanded judge- 
ment on the balls. He finally got in a 
fair lick and m;ide his run. 

Bill Mann sent the ball toward first 
base, and followed it. Webb grabbed 
the ball, but before he could put it on 
the base, it slipped out of his hand. But 
being quick in emergencies he threw him- 
self across the base, and insisted he had 
the ball on it. Had he insisted, he had 
been there, he would have carried his 
point. Mann had to go out. 

Bickford got a fair yank at the ball and 
started off as though he had taken a dose 
of i)ills and the first base was the nearest 
place to go to. When he was on his way 
home the umpire called to the crowd, 
which was encroaching on the dead line, 
to go back. Bickford thought it meant 
him, and went back to first base. But 
he made the run. 

Reese struck the ball gallantly and 
started off. On the way from the last 
base home he found it would be nip and 
tuck. As he was a good crawler, he fell 
flat on the ground and Avent the .last ten 
feet on his belly. He was ruled out. 



Four innings were played, the mer- 
chants coming out ahead. Following is 
the score: 

Merchants: 
C. Leland, jr., p, 
J. F. Wilson, c, 
Joe Craney, 1. f, 
C. F. Vanbuskirk, c. f, 1 
N. Silverman, r. f, 
Dan Bursk, 3d b, 
Wm. Mann, 2nd b, 
C. B. Bickford, ss, 
J. Reese, 1st b, 



inns 


Outs 


4 





1 


2 





4 


1 


2 


1 


1 


2 


.2 


1 


2 


1 


1 


2 


1 



14 



Lawyers: 
N. B. Wood, 2d b, 
A. Perry, 1. f, 
W. D. Webb, Istb, 
M. C. Reville, c, 
I). ?t[. Johnson, c. f, 
X. K. Stout, ss, 

F. Babcock, r. f, 

T. W. Heatley, 3d b, 

G. W. Wood, p. 



13 



15 



s 


1 


1 


3 


2 


* 1 


2 


3 





I 


1 


2 


1 


1 


1 


1 


2 


1 









14 



Indian Relics. 

On the sites of old Indian villages and 
camping grounds, in mounds, and in the 
banks of the streams have been found 
many interesting relics of aboriginal days. 
George J. Remsburg of Atchison county, 
excavating an ancient mound at the mouth 
of Independence creek in 1903, discover- 
ed a human skeleton that bore evidence 
of having been cremated. With the skele- 
ton were found ornaments of copper, and 
implements and weapons of stone. At 
Eagle Springs, where a few mounds have 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



111 



been examined superficially, have been | 
found fragments of pottery, flint imple- 
ments etc., also remnants of incinerated 
human bones, together with the bones of 
wild animals long unknown in this part 
of the country. One mile east of Sever- 
ance, at the junction of Cold Springs and 
Silver Creek, which was the site of an 
ancient Indian village, a heavy corn-bowl, 
rude in outline but showing evidence of 
polish, has been found, also a fine green 
granite tomahawk, jterfectly fashioned 
and carefully polished, hundreds of arrow 
and spear heads, lead amulets, beads, frag- 
ments of pottery, a portion of a rude iron 
scalping knife, an engraved sandstone, 
and a portion of a human skull together 
with the jaw bone containing a few teeth 
in fair state of preservation, all found in 
a heap of cinders and ashes about four to 
six inches beneath the surface of the 
ground of a crumbling bank overlooking 
the long-abandoned course of a stream. 
Near this old villages site was found, in 
1902, a very ancient fiint-lock pistol of 
primitive pattern, deeply eaten by rust 
but preserving evidence of fine finish and 
workmanship, and still retaining in its 
rusty barrel its charge of powder and ball. 
In 1879 there was found at the home of 
the writer, almost in the dooryard, what 
must have been at one time a treasure and 
a curiosity to the Indians themselves— a 
very small and absolutely perfect white 
iiint arrow head measuring only three- 
eighths of an inch across the wings, and 
just five eighths of an inch from point to 
butt. Being so dininutive and exhibit- 
ing perfection in skill in the making it 
was, we think, one of the most wonderful 
cf Indian relics. Unfortunately it has 



been lost from the collection to which it 
belonged. 



Orange Blossoms in 1875. 

(Grasshop])er Year.) 

January. 
Geo. M. Randolph and Rebecca Dunlap. 
Jeff. T. Overlan<ler and ^"Mary J. Heer. 
Calvin Morehead and Jane Kendall. 
Jos. Van Pettan and Harriet Stewart. 
Landis Warner and Emma Hatcher. 

February. 
John L. Gray and Florence Tice. 
Henry Evans and ]\Iattie liauer. 
David Paschal and Laura Whitson. 
Thomas Quinn and Sally Xeel. 
James L. Daily and Emily 'J\ Jeffers. 
Charles Ford and Harriet E. Pierson. 

.Alarch. 
Sebastian Martin and Sara Stout. 
George W. Brimm and Lu Dupuy. 
George Newman and Rosa Christophine. 
Wm. M. Gabriel and Sara E. Moore. 
Thomas J. Meers and Cardine Graves. 
CharleiS P. Shelton and Matilda Cowger. 

B. L. Mix and Elizabeth C. Lewis. 
Emmet Fenn and Lena Watson. 
John Small and Flora McDaniel. 

April. 
J. T. Jeffers and M. C. Elder. 
Joseph E. Ryan and Sue Hawkins. 
Fred T. Dawe and Mary Hale. 
Isaiah Terry and Mary Ann McBride. 
J. C. White and Alice Whittaker. 
John Elliott and Emma Hotes. 
Zadoc Shwisher and Ellen Dempsey. 
Harry Farmholtz and Teresa Schneider. 
J. R. Ramsey and Mary L. Diamond. 

C. Bowman and Dora Brad v. 



112 



UHAY'S DONIPHAN COUNT V HISTORY 



May. 

Michael Husa and Caroline Shierholdt. 
Laukford Humphreys and Fanny Stokes. 

June. 
William D. Starr and Kate L. Clawater. 
Robert W. McAfee and Grace L. Deaiie. 
John Vv^. Wade and M. E. Sheldon. 
Anthony W. Darby and Sara A. Smith. 
Edward Nay lor and Fanny M. Mider. 

July. 
Francis M. Taylor and Sara Curtis. 
T. B. Jones and Ella Sproul. 
A. W. Beale and Viola A. Cash. 
John T. Hamilton and Sura Miller, 

August. 
C. L. Smith and Josephine Ritten house. 
William Ryan and Johanna Ryan. 
Thomas Miller and Sara Bartow. 
James A. Baird and Emma Lible. 
David L. Botts and Polly Howard. 

September. 
Doras Bell and Ly<Ua Pendleton. 
George Stout and Mary E. Charles. 
George W. ]\Ioore and Kate L. Richards. 
P. O. Roberts and M. J. C lem. 
Matthias Dannivick and Ellen Clemetscn. 
Charles Favors and Alice AVhite. 

October. 
Thomas Tadlock and Narcissa Pickett. 
Wm. ^I. Groom and Amanda J. Evans. 
John C. McGee and Rachel Vancuren. 
Zenas Smith and Melissa E. Porter. 
Charles Ogelvy and Clara Blakely. 
John Gramlish and Catherine Delside. 
Lemon Walker and Adelia Botts. 
James ]\Iartin and Jemima Robinson. 
S. R. Shepherd and Alice Miller. 
P. A. Floodin and Ida Shock. 
Adam Courter and Sara Round. 
Joseph Mistier and Rosa Haberstran. 



November. 
T. J. Dyche and Jennie Williams. 
W. W. Smith and Emma Brown. 
John Collins and Lou Cundiff. 
Taylor Myers and Lyda Bauer. 
Ratlift" Sparks and Eliza Frazier. 
William Blatt and Margaret Clemenson. 
George Brock and Louisa Henley. 
George Bush and Nannie Newton. 
Eugene Hinckley and Ella Ilagaman. 
Jephtha Todd and Emma Mann. 
Charles Nahrung and Ursula Schwartz. 
Thomas Banning and Sara Hubbard. 

December. » 

Franklin Shields and EllaHenwood. 
John Jenkins and Elenora Lindley. 
F. W. Walker and H. R. Wykert. 
David Goacher and Sara Speaks. 
Peter Stine and Elizabeth Kaufman. 



Wind Storms. 

Long before Kansas became a territory 
apart from other lands of the West, that 
part of the country now included in Don- 
iphan County was visited by a most de- 
structive windstorm which swept over 
the Wolf River country, leveling the 
trees ol the forest in a wide swath. No 
date has ever been set as the date of the 
passing of this storm, but it could not 
have been later than 1837, the year of 
the settlement there by the Presbyterian 
missionary, Rev. Irvin. For many years 
evidences of the great power of the wind 
in this storm were to be found in the re- 
gion of Bayne's Bridge, where trunks of 
giant trees lay rotting in the path almost 
obliterated by a new growth of timber of 
no small size. This was the first wind- 
storm (of which we have evidence) that 
visited this part of the country. 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



113 



On the afternoon of June 16, 1865, a 
very destructive windstorm swept over 
this same region, traversing the territor- 
ies of both Wolf River and Iowa town- 
ships. Coming from the south west and 
entering the county near the upper course 
of Wolf River, it pursued a north by 
east course across the high prairies until 
it struck the Wolf River timber above 
Bayne's Bridge. From this point the 
course of the stream was followed through 
Iowa township. 'J'he trail of the storm 
was narrow but the destruction in the 
path was great. Great tree-trunks were 
twisted like saplings and leveled to the 
ground. The house of Joshua Ritten- 
house was totally destroyed while the 
family of ten saved their lives by retreat- 
ing into the cellar. Everything on the 
place excepting a calf that was picketed 
near the house, was swept away. Anoth- 
er house that stood on the high prairie a 
few miles east of Highland was blown 
into splinters, and a woman with a baby 
who was running toward the house, was 
caught up and hurled to their death. It 
is said that the body, of the woman was 
afterwards found in Missouri, just across 
the river; but the child was never found. 
Near the present site of Highland Station 
a log house belonging to Jonathan Fra- 
zier was torn to pieces by the fury of the 
wind. Mr. Frazier was killed and his 
little daughter, Maggie, was seriously in- 
jured. Many other houses and shanties 
were unroofed and otherwise damaged, 
but the greatest sufferers were those 
whose houses were in the timber. The 
path of the storm was, for many years, 
plainly visible, and in some places it is 



yet possible to trace it, after forty years 
of Nature's kind restoring. 

About 1872, a tornado of less destruct- 
ive power passed (>Vcr the country just 
east of Troy. < The house of John Doms, 
situated just three and a half miles due 
east of Troy, was totally destroyed. Mrs. 
Doras was kilh'd. 

In August, 1878, a strong northwest 
Avind destroyed the home of Clement 
Pope, one mile north.east of .Aloniy, then 
Norway. The oldest son of the family 
was instantly killed by being struck with 
a flying timber from the house. 

On the night of May 25th, 1903, a 
tornado coming from the southwest be,- 
gan its destruction in Union township by 
completely destroying the liandsome brick 
church at St. Benedict's, a sliort distance 
southeast of Denton. The church had 
been finished only a few years at a cost 
of about 115.000, but was totally de- 
stroyed with all its contents within a 
few seconds, while the pastor's residence, 
only a few yards distant from the church, 
was left unharmed. Passing on its fatal 
path the storm dealt destruction to every- 
thing within its mad reach. Just north 
of the destroyed church the winds divid- 
ed, following parallel paths, leveling 
barns, windmills, orchards and gi'oves. 
No life of man or beast was lost, and no 
one received the slightest injury. The 
storm coming at an hoar when the chil- 
dren of most families were in bed, the 
destruction of life might have been very 
great, but it was as if the guardian angel 
had traced a channel for the wind to fol- 
low, thus shielding the homes of the 
sleeping little ones from the visit of mis- 
ery and death. The damage inflicted by 



114 



GKAY'ri DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



this wind may be roughly erttimated at 
150,000, but the preservatKni of huaian 
life was certainly miraculous. 



Laura Nation. 

On the 16th day of July, IHiKi, Latiia, 
the three-year-old daughter of JanieH Na- 
tion, then of Elwood, now of St. Jo.se[>h, 
Mo., wandered away from her home and 
disappeared. At first it wa,s thought 
that she had wandered dowi) to the river 
and had been drowned. The river was 
dragged but without success. A li^'w 
days later the impression becarutv geneivxl 
that the child had been stolen hy a band 
of Gypsies that had been catnped isear 
the town. "J'he band was followed and 
watched for v.eeks by Mr. Nation but 
without results. However, the father 
did not give uj) the search for his miss- 
ing child. Receiving now and again, 
during the next four or five years, re- 
ports of the finding of his child, he in- 
vestigated each rejtort only to be disap- 
[>ointed. He would not give nj» the search, 
although considerable of the savings of a 
lifetime had been spent in fruitks.-< en- 
deavor. At last, after nearly eight years, 
there came to him from a wonum in Illi- 
nois information that actually lead to the 
recovery of his child. The* information 
stated that an eleven-year-old girl had 
heen abandoned by a band of Gypsies at 
Florence, Alabama, in December, 1908, 
and that the abandoned one was his 
child. Telegrams and letters were ex- 
changed between the police authorities in 
the two toAvus, and eventually the girl 
was sent from Florence to St. Joseph, 
where she was met by 3Ir. and Mrs. 
Nation, who, from the first, seemed all 



but convinced that she was really their 
own child. The Nations took the girl to 
their home to decide. For a day or two 
the girl was silent and cross, she being 
very tired after her long journey from 
the South, but after a rest she recovered 
good humor and as soon as she began to 
talk she related some very touching ac- 
counts of hardships received and endured 
while in the hands of the Gypsies, show- 
ing bruises and old scars on her tender 
skin to prove the truth of her words. 
After three or four days of deliberation, 
Mr. an<l Mrs. Nation (tame to the full 
conclusion that the child was their long 
lost Laura, and after eight years of wan- 
dering life filled with handships and 
danger, she was reinstated in the home 
of her grateful parents. 



Lewis Traey. 

Sketch of Lewis Tracy, who went into 
the Union army from this county when a 
very old man, and whose five sons fol- 
lowed his example, from the St. Jo- 
seph Union, October 21, 1865: 

"3tr. Tracy was a native of Kentucky, 
and one of the early settlers in the Platte 
Purchase, moving to this city when it 
was scarcely a vilLige. When Kansas 
was admitted as a territory he removed 
there, and during the Border Ruffian 
difficulties, sided with the Free State 
men of that section. At the breakinsr 
out of the Rebellion, his three (.5?) sons 
went into the army, and the old man, 
notwithstanding he had passed the age 
for the reception of volunteers, enlisted 
as a private in a Kansas regiment and 
was engaged in several battles. For 
bravery at Cane Hill and Prairie Grove 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



115 



Iio was appointed to Sergeant, refusing 
any liiglier position and was foremost in 
every attack. Of a genial disposition, he 
liad a host of friends; of a benevolent 
nature, he sought not this world's goods, 
but living upon his farm was satisfied 
with its income, and no one ever left Mr. 
Tracy's door upon an errand of mercy 
unsupplied. His heart beat for freedom, 
and his life was freely offered as a pledge 
of his devotion to the cause of liberty 
and right. His remains were brought 
from Kansas and interred in Mt. Mora 
cemeterv- 



Indians at the Fair. 

In the fall of 1879 or 1880, patrons of 
the Troy fair had the opportunity of see- 
ing a band of real Indians in war paint 
and feathers. About thirty or forty red 
skins from the Iowa and Sac reservation 
came doAvn and camped on the fair 
grounds for a whole week. They cooked 
and ate their own food in their own 
primitive fashion, and gave many exhibi- 
tions of their war dance which greatly 
interested many of the younger genera- 
tion of pale faces. We remember of 
shaking hands with the old chief, Taraka, 
\vhose head was shaved and painted red 
and green, and whose ears were orna- 
mented with big, rusty, brass rings. We 
induced him to go through a pantomine 
illustrating his battle with a Pawnee, 
and he grew so excited during the per- 
formance, striking with his tomahawk so 
closely to our head that for a moment 
we were wishing that we had remained 
at home that day to finish drilling in the 
fall wheat. The old fellow made a talk 
to his "white brothers" in his own lan- 



guage, which was interpreted at intervals 
during the speech by a half breed who 
knew how to put water on the fire of the 
old codger's words. The most laughable 
thing we saw that day in the red man's 
camp was the sly act of a pretty little 
Indian girl. Having had her dinner and 
being susceptible to the inspiration of the 
god of mischief, she crept up behind her 
big, fat aunt, who was leisurely picking 
a bone, and with a grin of cruel joy on 
her dusky face, she introduced the point 
of a rusty brass pin into a certain tender 
posterior portion of the fat lady's frame. 
Then, with a shriek of fiendish glee, the 
red little imp executed a war dance on 
the green within a few feet of her victim 
who was too fat and lazy to seek revenge. 
For their services entertaining the white 
visitors to the fair that year the noble 
red men and women were given all the 
old, blind and lame cows that they 
could eat. 



A Boy's Adventure. 

On the Fourth of July. 1872, the citi- 
zens of Elwood and some few hundred 
people from the coifntry witnessed a 
novel balloon ascension which proved to 
be one of the most interesting features of 
the great day. The aeronaut had his 
balloon ready for the skyward journey 
about the middle of the afternoon, the 
day being clear and calm. In the crowd 
was an ambitious young Irish boy with 
very red hair and an abundance of 
freckles to decorate his beaming face. 
The boy was interested in the aeronaut 
and his car, and in a bantering way the 
aeronaut asked the lad to accompany him 
on his journey to the clouds. The boy 



116 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



expressed himself as both ready and will- 
ing, whereupon the man told him to ask 
the permission of his parents. Of course 
the pei'mission was refused, and while 
the boy seemed greatly disappointed, 
there was hidden in his heart a definite 
plan. Tlie boy disappeared and no one 
seemed to know just v.here he had gone. 
Many su])posed he had gone away to cry 
with a broken heart, but those were un- 
acquainted with the boy. Some time 
passed, and the balloonist was ready to 
enter his basket car. No one knows just 
how it happened, but the ropes were 
loosed and the balloon darted upward be- 
fore the aeroi.aut had had time to get 
aboard. AVhcn the great air car was 
several hundred feet from the ground, a 
small head was seen ])eeping ov^r the 
edge of the basket. It was the head of 
a boy, and it was a very red head. Then 
it dawned upon the minds of tlie excited 
multitude that tlie ambitious young Irish 
boy, instead of having gone home to cry 
Avith a broken heart, had slyly hidden 
himself, red head and all, in the balloon 
basket, thereby giving himself permission 
denied by loving but misunderstanding- 
parents. The man of the balloon may 
have known of the presence of the boy in 
the basket, but certainly he had not con- 
ceived of the balloon's abrupt departure 
froin the terrestrial sphere. The balloon 
arose majestically to a great height. The 
boy was seen Avaving his hat in a very 
self confident and enthusiastic manner, as 
if he thoroughly understood and was 
master of the situation. If the boy 
could keep his composure there was hope 
for his safety, although great odds were 
against him. The great air-car rose 



higher and higher until it seemed to bob 
against the ceiling of the sky. Then, 
meeting a current of air, it l)egan slowly 
to drift. Different currents seized it, 
each playing with it for a time, but it 
never passed out of sight of the watching 
multitude in which there were eyes that 
were tearful and eyes that were weary, and 
necks that were painfully awry. At 
last, however, the balloon began to de- 
scend slowly, like a bird alighting on her 
nest. As it neared the eartli it began to 
lose the dignity of its motion. It swayed 
and plunged and teetered, but did not 
collapse. Again the red head ap- 
peared over the side of the basket, 
and some that had good eyesight and 
better qualities of imagination, say that 
a very wide grin strained the elasticity 
of the boy's mouth. Tlie balloon man 
shouted some instructions to the boy 
who, still in full possession of nerve 
most admirable, followjed them and soon 
found himself on the dear old earth and 
in the arms of a dear mother who pun- 
ished him then and there before the multi- 
tude, by covering his freckled face with 
the most affectionate kisses. The boy, 
leaching manhood, still had "high" 
aims, and soon arose t > the dignity of a 
responsible railroad otlicial with a cozy 
othce in the heart of ChicaafO. 



A Broken Bank. 

In January, 1904, the discovery was 
made that the cashier of the Highland 
Bank, J. E. Marcell, had been devoting 
much of his spare time to the disadvant- 
age of the bank and its patrons, and ap- 
parently to his own advantage, by forg- 
ini>- thousands of dollars worth of notes. 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



117 



The discovery was made January 4th, andjiorgery, and he was sent to the feet of 
his arrest followed on the 6th, when he 'the judge, who sentenced him to serve 



attempted to escape from the scene of his 
misdeeds. His crookedness and villainy 
spread fiuancial distress throughout the 
country, many of the sufferei-s being 
poor men and women, whose hard earned 
savings he had recklessly squandered for 
the gratiticatiou of his villainous desii-es. 
Half a dozen Wolf River farmers who 
had just sold their stock and had received 



thirty-tive years in the penitentiary. 
Marcell began serving his long sentence 
on June 6th, it being just live months 
from the time of his arrest to his being 
placed behind the bars. For some time 
prior to his arrest he had been sowing 
broadcast other people's money; but the 
people seeing, rose up and complained, 
and the reckless sower left off to sow. 



checks on the Highland Bank lost in the The mills of the gods, swift when the 
neighborhood of |il 0,000. For a time occasion demands it, opened up the hop- 
the citizens of the town and county were pers and did the rest. 

under great excitement, and threats of ■■ 

lynching were freely made. All that Joel Ryan. 

was lacking was tlie right kind of man to Joel Ryan was born in Sumner county, 
head the crowd. Had this man appeared Tenn., in the year 1819, and was at his 
with the necessary "tixin's"' the young death, which occurred on the 4th inst., 
scoundrel cashier's earthly troubles soon , 60 years old . His father died when he 
would have been over; but the promises j was quite young, leaving him and his 
and pleadings of his near friends saved brother to support a large and indigent 
him — delivering him to the calmer fate I family. They worked faithfully and 
of the prison. For a time Marcell awed i nobly, and not only made their livinsr but 
the people with an exposition of an un- ! succeeded in educating themselves, and 
usual quality and quantity of nerve. He ; also their younger brotliers and sisters, 
held up his guilty head and smiling com- and that too, in tliis country where there 
placently declared with well feigned ! are no free schools. He was an overseer 
earnestness that '-all would come out j on a plantation at the age of 16, having 
right side up, and that in the end each i forty neg-ro hands under him. Beiiiir a 
man should receive every dollar, etc." i great favorite among the slave-holders, 
As the coils began to tighten about him ' who were generally sporting men, he 
his splendid nerve deserted him and he { early contracted those habits which iinal- 
linally broke down under the terrible j ly led him to an untimely grave. Mr. 
strain of the gloomy situation. His first ' Ryan's life was more eventful than most 
trial resulted in a hung jury, but there ! people are aware of. He served as a 
were other charges to be met and ; volunteer in two Indian wars— -the first 
answered, and the skies were grow- at the age of 17, at the time the Indians 
ing darker. In the second trial his at- were moved across the Mississippi; next 
torneys entered a plea of guilty to one I in the Florida war. He was also a sol- 
count in each of the seven charijes of I dier in the Mexican war under Colonel 



il8 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



Donij»han and was one of the first settlers 
of northwestern Missouri, settling first in 
Andrew county, where he learned the 
trade of brick making and brick masonry. 
He then moved to St. Joseph when the 
town was first laid out, and built about 
the first brick building in the place. For 
many years he was one of the leading 
men of St, Joseph. In his earlier days 
he was considered attractive and might 
have made some good woman hap{)y. He 
went to California in 1849, during the 
first gold excitement, but subsequenlly 
returned to St Joseph and, in the spring 
of 1854 located a homestead at Ryan's 
Station, wheic he lived a secluded lifc- 
until his deat'i and where he now lies 
buried. He was a })vominent pro-sl;iv.n-y 
man during the early Kansas troibles 
and was a candidate on the Pro-Slavery 
ticket for the Territorial legislature, but 
was defeated. He possessed more intelli- 
gence than the casual observer gave him 
credit for. The writer hereof has been 
edified many times, listening to him tell 
about the political meetings and bear 
hunts in early days in the south. Aside 
from his only besetting sin ha was a 
gentleman, a true friend and a good 
neighl)or. He was a man of excellent 
social qualities and fine conversational 
powers, and was most appreciated by 
those who knew him best. He was a 
Free ^Nlason but word was received too 
late to bury him with the honors of the 
order. A man's good deeds live after 
him and let us say this will be the case 
with "Uncle'' Joel. Let us l)iil him a 
long and affectionate farewell. 

"He has crossed the sorrowful river. 
That mourns thro' the valley of years, 
And the hand of love incarnate 
Has wiped away all tears." 

Fraternally, OLD VET. 

Severance, Kan., Oct. 21, 1871). 



Marriage of an Indian Princess. 

We find the following highly colored 
account of the marriage of Princess 
Cammanche Jubilina Susan White Cloud 
to the Irish Knight, "Patsy" McGuire, 
in the White Cloud Leader, August, 1875: 

"Quite a sensation was created in our 
city last Friday by the announcement of 
a grand wedding between a gallant son 
of the Emerald Isle named "Patsy" 
McGuire and a no less distinguished per- 
sonage than the daughter of White Cloud 
after whom our city was named. Pat 
and his dingy bride attended by a large 
concourse of people, mostly boys, took 
deck passage on the ferry boat to the 
Missouri shore, where no license or cer- 
tificate of good moral charcter are re- 
quired, and there beneath a shady Cot- 
tonwood tree tliey were bound in holy 
bonds of })a<llock in real orthordox style. 
The bride exhibited considerable emotion, 
blowing her nose several times, but the 
groom maintained his composure like a 
true Knight, answering the marriage 
vows with a mental reservation like a 
congressman t.akiug oath. Any descrip- 
tion of the bride which we can give must, 
in the nature of things, be imperfect, 
since imperfection is indescribable, even 
the perfection of ugliness. Her form 
was tall and graceful as a sunflower; her 
hair was raven black and hung in grace- 
ful confusion over her dumpy shoulders; 
her eyes wei*e black as sloes and set at 
an angle; her nose was short and chubby; 
she had a splendid mouth for eating paw- 
paws; her upper lip was thick and pout- 
ing; her cheek bones were high, and her 
forehead was very low. Her b;idaltrous- 
' seau was very simfjle, a faded calico 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



119 



gown hung loosly over her graceful 
form and her dainty feet were incased in 
l)eaded moccasins that might have been 
number eights. A few strings of beads 
and some brass rings completed the cos- 
tume. The gallant Pat was robed in the 
same garments he had been accustomed 
to wear when on duty on the gravel 
train. On their return to town they 
started for the reservation, where, un- 
molested, they can enjoy the sweets of 
love in a wigwam." 

Here is Sol Miller's answer to the 
above: "There is a great deal of rabbit- 
track about the White Cloud Leader's 
stoiy of the marriage of Pat McGuire to 
the daughter of old Chief White Cloud. 
We think there were but two of the 
White Cloud girls and Tesson is married 
to them both, and they are nicer looking 
women than the Leader describes." 



Atchison & Nebraska City Railroad. 

On the 5th of May, 1867, a charter 
Avas tiled in the office of the Secretary of 
State of Kansas, for the Atchison & Ne- 
braska City Railroad company, with 
corporators as follows: Peter B. Abell, 
George W. Click, Alfred G. Otis, John 
M. Price, Will W. Cochran, Albert H. 
Horton, Samuel A. Kingman, Junius T. 
Herriford and Augustus Byram. The 
charter authorized the construction of a 
railroad from some point in the city of 
Atchison to some point on the northern 
line of the state of Kansas, not farther 
west than twenty-five miles from the 
Missouri river, and the length of the 
proposed road not to exceed forty-five 
miles. Upon the organization of the 



company its name was changed to Atchi- 
son & Nebraska Railroad Company. 
Municipal subsqriptions in bonds to the 
capital stock of the company were made 
as follows. Atchison county, $150,000, 
and Doniphan county, $200,000. Indi- 
vidual subscriptions amounting to |80,- 
000 were made in Atchison county and 
$10,000 in Doniphan county. Work 
was commenced on the road at Atchison 
in the summer of 1869, and in the summer 
of 1871 it was completed to the northern 
boundary of the &tate, three miles north 
of White Cloud. The Atchison stock- 
holders graded the road bed to the state 
line, constructed the bridges and fur- 
nished the ties for that distance, when 
the entire property was donated to a 
Bost<,in syndicate, represented by James 
F. Joy, in consideration of the comple- 
tion and operation of the road by the 
said syndicate. On the 3d of November, 
1871, this company was consolidated 
with the Atchison, Lincoln & Columbus 
Railroad company, of Nebraska, which 
had been authorized to construct a road 
from the terminal point at the state line, 
of the Atchison & Nebraska railroad to 
Columbus, on the Union Pacific railway 
by way of Lincoln. From the state 
line the work was prosecuted vigorously 
and the road was completed and in opera- 
tion to Lincoln in the fall of 1872. In 
January, 1880, the road was purchased 
by the Burlington & Missouri River 
Railroad company, and since the consoli- 
dation of that company in 1880, with the 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad 
company, it has been officially designated 
as the Atchison & Nebraska division of 
the Bilrlington & Missouri Railroad 



12C 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN VOU^^Y HISTORY 



Company in Nebraska. Distance from 
Atchison, Kansas, to Lincoln, Nebraska, 
146.6 miles. Number of miles in Kan- 
sas, 37.24. — From Andreas' History of 
Kansas. 



St. Benedict's Parish. 

Before the building of the stone church 
at St. Benedict's, in 1864, the Mass was 
celebrated in a house on Independence 
creek, belonging to Edward Doyle. 
Father Henry Lemke, who was the tirst 
pastor at Doniphan, in 1855, came once 
a month to celebrate Mass in this humble 
dwelling. This journey was often made 
on foot. His parishoners were few, and 
some of them very poor. They came to 
Mass on foot and in ox-carts; all of the 
family that could be spared from the 
duties at home, and their regular attend- 
ance encouraged the zealous pastor to 
continue, winter and summer, in his 
struggle for the spiritual and temporal 
welfare of the congregation. 

Early in 1857 Father I^emke was suc- 
ceeded by Father Edmond, whose minis- 
try in the parish continued only a few 
months. Between 1857 and 1860 the 
parish had no regular pastor, there being 
many different priests there during that 
time, all having been sent from St. 
Benedict's Abbey in Atchison. 

In I860 Father John Meurs was placed 
in charge. He it was who began the 
movement which led to the erection of 
the first church. He remained in charge 
but a few months, however, and the 
work rested for a time. In 1861, the first 
resident pastor was appointed. He was 
Father Thomas Bartl, loved, honored 
and remembered by the children and 



grandchildren of parents whom he coni- 
forted in the trying years when war's red 
wave swept over the land. He at once 
resumed the work of building the church 
which was left off by Father Meurs, 
The work was mostly done by members 
of the congregation, all hands willingly 
turning to help. Father Bartl did not 
confine himself to the exercise of his 
priestly duties. He joined a small army 
of workers, assisting in quarrying rock, 
mixing mortar, and even carrying the 
hod. He appeared a frail man, but he 
had the zeal of Paul and the industry of 
Patrick. The church, tiie dimentions of 
which were 70x40 feet, was completed in 
1865, and at last, after ten years of pa- 
tient waiting the congregation had a 
house of its own in which to worship. 
Two years later a brick parsonage was 
erected near the church, and the good 
Father was made comfortable in his well 
earned home. In 1874, after thirteen 
years of faithful duty, this zealous and 
self-sacrificing pioneer of the cross was 
removed to another parisli. Eleven years 
later, on the 30th day of November, 1885, 
he was called from this earthly vineyard 
to hear the all compensating words: 
"Well done, good and faithful servant." 
From the spring of 1874 to 1875, 
Father Suitbert de Marteau was the resi- 
dent pastor. During his stay the brick 
floor of the church Avas replaced by one 
of substantial pine, a belfry was erected 
and a bell purchased and put into place. 
We well remember the Sunday when this, 
the first bell, was blessed . James Kir- 
wan and Keren Devereaux stood god- 
father, and their wives, Mrs. Ann Kir- 
wan and Mrs. Devereaux, stood god- 



GRAV'S DO^nPHAN COUNTRY HISTORY 



121 



mother to the bell. All are long since j 6th, 1894, Father Matthew Bradley, 



•lead, tolled to their last resting place by 
the same bell. 

Father Pirmin M. Koumly was ap- 
pointed pastor in October, 187.5, and re- 
mained until 1886. He found the cliurch 
in debt, but by energetic work the debt 
was soon discharged. Father Koumly 
was a close student of nature, giving 
special attention to the study of ornithol- 
ogy and botany. A number of his man- 
uscripts on the migration of birds are 



"the church builder," became pastor of 
the congregation. December 21st, 1894, 
the contract for the building was let, and 
it was to cost $10,000. The old church 
had stood for nearly thirty years, and 
was in a dilapidated condition. Mass 
was celebrated in it for the last time on 
February 24th, 1895. There was sorrow 
in the hearts of many of the old parishon- 
ers who, in their younger days, had given 
their means and strenyth to erect the 



preserved in the Smithsonian Institute at dear old building, for they were kneel- 
Washina^ton. For some years he had | ing for the last time between the hal- 
been ensao-ed in writing a history ol the i lowed walls. Man.v gray haired fathers 
Benedictines from the foundation of the j and mothers kneeling there counted up 
order in the sixth century to the present j their joys and sorrows — their joys, the 
time, but while still engaged in the un- 1 baptism, and later the marriage of their 
dertaking, the death summons came and children; their sorrows, tlie death and 
he passed to his reward on the morning burial of sons and daughters and friends 
of July 27th, 1904. | then quietly sleeping away the hours till 

In September, 1886, Father Ferdinand I the resurrection morn, in the old grave- 
Wolf was appointed pastor and remained 'yard on 'the hillside in the direction of 
until September, 1888, when he was sue- 1 the sunrise. 



ceeded by Father John Stader. Father 
Stader was left in charge until Jure, 1891. 
Collecting for the building of a new 
church was begun in 1891, shortly after 
the appointment of Father Thomas Burk. 
Father Burk was a tireless worker, but 
he did not succeed in his undertaking. 
However, he collected for the proposed 
building a fair sum of money which he 
left to his successor, Father Augustine 
Baker, who came to take charge of the 
parish December 10th, 1893. Father 
Baker continued the work of collecting 
for the new church, and at last, in the 
summer of 1894 the work of building be- 
gan. But it was not for this worthy 
man to finish the work. On December 



The doors of the new church were 
sodu opened. March 2Ut, the feast of 
St. Benedict, the first rock of the found- 
ation of the new church was laid. April 
14th, the corner stone was solemnly 
blessed by Father Boniface Verheyen, 
assisted by Fathers T. Fitzgerald and 
Alovsius Bradley. August 11th, the beau- 
tiful new church was solemnly opened. 
The celebrant was Father Michael Rank, 
assisted by Father Bernard Uhlbrick as 
deacon, and Father Anthony Baar as sub- 
deacon. Father Bradley preached the 
sermon. October 9th, the church was 
solemnly dedicated by the Right Rever- 
end Louis M. Fink, O. S. B., D. D., 
Bishop of the Diocese. 



122 



GKAV\S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



At the completion of the church there 
was a debt of $4,500 to be paid. Father 
Bradley would uot have his congregation 
bear this yoke. His resourceful mind at 
once conceived a plan by which sufficient 
money could be raised co cancel the 
debt. His plans were communicated to 
the congregation and the church com- 
mittee and received their approval. The 
entire congregation responded to the call, 
and on December 1st, 1898, the last dol- 
lar of the debt was paid. 

In 1899, the old parsonage erected in 
1867, was torn down and a handsome 
new one erected in its place. This was 
the people's gift to their worthy pastor, 
Father Bradley. 

On the night of May 25th, 1903, the 
church was totally destroyed by a torna- 
do. As Father Bradley stood over the 



demolished building which had cost iuni 
so much time, care and labor to have 
erected, he folded his hands calmly and 
said. '"The will of God be done! With 
His help we can build again." Sad, but 
not discouraged, this man of good faith 
and brave heart, went immediately to work 
to rebuild, and Avithin a short time a new 
building, almost as tine as any other church 
edifice in the state, stood upon the site of 
the one swept away by the wind. The 
new church was dedicated May 10th. 
1904, a little less than a year from the 
date of the destruction of the old one. 
Father Bradley, the quiet, unassuming- 
man, had, within the nine years of his 
residence in this parish, built for the 
congregation two fine churches and an 
elegant parsonage, the total cost repre- 
senting nearly $!40,000. 



CHAPTER XII. 



/^TSCSLLAHSOUS SKSTCHSS. 



(Continued) 



Is Yonr Teacher's Name Here? 

(1875) 



Dist. No. 



1 

2 
3 
4 
5 

6 

^ 
t 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 



14 
In 



Wathena, blank. 
Elwood, C. H. Quinn. 
Rock Creek, D. W. Brown. 
Not organized until 1889. 
Palermo, H. N. Hopkins. 
Fanning, Lewis Marshal. 
Syracuse, blank. 

Prairie Grove, Thomas E. Jones. 
Maynard's, L. H. Miller. 
Saxton's, F. F. Paige, jr. 
Randolph's, James A.Bailey. 
Geary City, L. B. Johnson. 
Doniphan, John A. Sea, Principal, 
Mrs. M. Philbrick, Assistant, 
W. A. Harris, Colored School. 
Not represented. 
Clem's, Miss Amanda Clem. 



16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 



22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 



St. Benedict's blank. 
Sevei'ance, E. P. Hammond. 
Dennis', Samuel B. McCrey. 
Hartman's, A. W. Heckman. 
Zimmerman's, D. 31. Conklin. 
Troy, T. M. Barret, Principal. 
Miss Cora Bayless, 1st Int'mediate 
Miss Emma Toner, 2d Int'mediate 
Miss May Hull, Primary. 
Mrs. G. Elliott, Colored School. 
Fairview, Jacob C. Sell. 
Aberle's, M. C. Reville. 
Overlander's, Miss I). Breeding. 
Wayne Twp, Miss Getta Hansen. 
Saunder's, blank. 
Not represented. 
Not represented. 
Chapon's, T. W. Roach. 
Not represented. 
Arnold's, J. B. Brooks. 



124 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



32 McClellan's, R. A.Reaburn. 

33 Waddell's, Oliver Edwards. 

34 Brush Creek, Alex. McCahon. 

35 Cordonier's, T. M. Welch. 

36 Not represented. 

37 Kirkpatriek's, W. E. Burk. 

38 Burr Oak, Fred Garlics. 

39 ''Red School House"', Miss K. 
Zimiuerman . 

40 Neese's, B. L. Landrum. 

41 lola, H. F. Shaner. 

42 "Dutch" John's, Walter Brownlee. 

43 White Cloud, Prof. T. II. Dins-^ 
more. Principal, 

Miss M. C. Palmer, Intermediate, 
Miss M. J. Koerner, Primary, 
Miss Lizzie Bradley, Colored 
School. 

44 Columbus, C. P. Linn, 

45 Leona, H. W. Young. 

46 Not represented . 

47 Klippers, Miss Kitty Clawater . 

48 East Norway, I. H. Watson. 

49 Chappers,Geo. W. Harris. 

50 Wheeler's, D. M. AVilliams. 

51 Hagaraan's, blank. 

52 Wolf River, J. A. Ball. 

53 Smithton, William Potter. 

54 Spring Gi-ove, Miss D. Spaulding. 

55 Bellemont. J. F. Clawater. 

56 Martin's, Robert Dinsraore. 

57 Normile's, Daniel Gillen. 

58 Iowa Point, Miss M. Pearson. 

59 Not represented. 

60 Walker's, S. S. Smeltzer. 

61 Highland, Milton T. Hills, 

Mrs. L. S. Riggs, Colored School. 

62 Yanderslice's, Wesley Trevett. 

63 Glad den's Bottom, G. T. Snelling. 

64 WilloAV Springs, A. Weininger. 

65 Not repi-esented. • 



66 Abbey's, Marion Fife. 

67 Mt. Vernon, Miss Lucy Soules. 

68 Hooper's Ford, C. W. Smith. 

69 Shulsky's, C. Y. Sturgeon. 

70 Winona, T. H. Dinsmore. 

71 Vanhorn's, N. J. Holloway. 

72 Mosquito Creek, S. S. Wooley. 

73 Pry's, Miss Anna Martin. 

74 Larzelere's, Charles Huffman. 

St. Joseph & Denver Railway Bond. 

F'ollowing is the full vote of the coun- 
ty on the railroad bond proposition, 
June, 1866: 

FRKOINCTS FOR AOAINST 

Troy 183 - 28 

Wathena ------ 255 - - 4 

Elwood 147 - 

White Cloud 10 - - 76 

Iowa Point 13-88 

Highland 73 - - 40 

Lafayette 0- 17 

Syracuse 67- -16 

Columbus ----- 23- 82 

Palermo 13 - - 67 

Geary City - 54 

Doniphan 5 - - 130 

Total 790-597 

INIajority 193 



Wathena Berry Gardens. 

"Did you know that Wathena, in Doni- 
phan county, is the big hub of the black- 
berry wheel of the west? That more 
blackberries are raised around Wathena 
than in all the rest of the states put to- 
gether?" says the Atchison Globe. "And 
yet the land around Wathena is not par- 
ticularly good. It is rough, hilly, and 
the soil is not ricli, and if the people 
were asleep to their opportunities in 
Doniphan county, as they are elsewhere. 



GUAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTV HISTORY 



125 



it would go to waste. But a smart man 
saw the possibilities in the hills, planted 
blackberries, and now blackberries are 
shipped from ^Vathena to all parts of 
t!ie United States, and hundreds of })eo- 
ple in that section do nothing during the 
blackberry season but gather the crop. 
The pay is 25 cents a crate, and a boy 
once picked fourteen crates in a day. 
There are loafers all over — Atchison is 
full of them — but thousands of crates of 
berries are going to w;iste at Wathena to- 
day because tliere is no one to pick them. 
There is no town in the world where the 
system is conducted as it is at Watliena 
A poor family nioves in, the neighbors i 
furnish him sup})lies till he gathers his | 
lirst crop from the patch of hazel brush | 
he has rented, cleared and planted to ' 
berries. 1 he first patch overpays fori 
the land and all cultivating and living I 
expenses incurred in the meantime. And ; 
land that pays for itself v.'ith its first 
cro[), at §100 to §150 per acre, witl) al- 
most a certainty of a crop every year, is ' 
better worth its price, can be paid for ; 
quicker and easier, than land at. ^10 to | 
%!15 per acre, on ten years' time, that at! 
the end of ten years often has to have j 
the mortgage renewed upon it. That is ! 
the reason why land near Wathena is yet 
cheap at §100 to 8150 per acre. It is 
often asked, what is the life-time of a I 
blackberry patch? That is not fully de- ; 
termined. T. J. Ferguson has a patch j 
eighteen years old that will produce 200 I 
crates per acre this year, and from the 
present appearances might last as much 
longer if well cared for. Blackberries 
are sometimes winter-killed, but not 
often. Only hardy, shipping varieties 



are grown for profit. The fine, large 
luscious, tender varieties, as long as your 
thumb and larger, sometimes seen, are 
grown sparingly for pleasure, and would 
not do to ship at all. The small, firm 
varieties that turn black before they are 
ripe are the only reliable ones for busi- 
ness. In one day last week 2,500 crates 
of berries were shipped from \Vathena, 
exclusive of those that went by wagon to 
St. Joseph. Before the season ends the 
3,0UU mark will be passed. 



Colonel Andrew G. E^'e. 

C(/u;nel Ege was born at Carlisle Iron 
Works, C"uml>erland county. Pa., hnd 
died at Highland, Doniphan county, Kas., 
November 24th, 187(J. He received his 
education at tlie Academy of Dr. Mc- 
Graw, West Nottingham, CVcil county, 
Md., and at Mt. St. Mary's College, Em- 
metsburg, Md. Ideiititied for many 
years with political histox'y of his adopt- 
ed state, Maryland, as a legislator, mem- 
ber of the Constitutional Reform Con- 
vention of 185U and 1851. As presi- 
dential elector and other prominent pub- 
lic positions, he was always noted for his 
tirm adherence to settled convictions, and 
his earnest and untiring vindication of 
what he deemed right. Colonel Ege was 
a bitter opponent of the Know Nothing 
party, in the days of its strength. As a 
great reader, he was well informed in the 
history of the past and present. His 
mind was stored with a vast fund of 
practical knowledge, the result of long 
experience and close observation. The 
deceased was truly a charitable man. He 
never saw distress without offering to 
relieve and assist the afflicted. A lover 



126 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



of the chase, an<l often said that he had 
owned more tine dogs than any other 
man in America. As a horseman and a 
good shot he was unsurpassed. In fact, 
his pleasures were those of past genera- 
tions. Colonel Ege was a man of untir- 
ing energy, having improved twenty-one 
farms during his life, and had owned a 
large amount of land in Pennsylvania, 
Maryland, Iowa, Missouri, Michigan and 
Kansas. He spent a large fortune in this 
state, and did much for the material de- 
velopement of Doniphan county, where 
he had resided since 1856. 

A social, polite, genial gentleman has 
passed away; one of the men -'of ye old- 
en time," so few of whom are left. His 
heart though brave was tender as a 
woman's. During his sickness he re- 
marked "that lie relied on the mercy and 
the justice of God. and believed in the 
atonement." One who loved him while 
living, and mourns him now; who under- 
stood his great generosity and affection, 
with a sad heart leaves this tribute upon 
his bier. 

"Weep not nature's transient pain; 
Congenial spirits pass to meet again." 

The grass, ujton his grave will ireshen 
and wither, but the memory of the de- 
parted will ever remain in our heart. 
May we meet in the hereafter. "Mors 
omnibus communis." 



COLONEL DAVID L. PAYNE. 

(The Father of Oklahoma.) 

Whenever a crowd of Oklahomans get 

together and talk about old times, it is 

safe to bet that the name of Col. David 

L. Payne will crop to the surface oftener 



and be spoken with more reverence than 
that of any other man mentioned. Payne 
was the John the Baptist of Oklahoma, 
and like his great counterpart, did not 
live to see the realization of his dreams 
for which he worked and endured a host 
of hardships. 

Payne, known everywhere in the terri- 
tory as "the father of Oklahoma," was 
the original boomer, and it is due to his 
efforts that the country was thrown open 
for settlement. This, however, was not 
accomplished without a fight against 
great odds, but it is indicative of the 
man that, although imprisoned, abused 
and frowned upon by the powers in 
Washington, never once gave up, but 
struggled on until he won the victory he 
long had sought. Time after time he 
rushed his determined little bands of set- 
I tiers across the line from Kansas, only to 
I see them scattered by the United States 
troops or rangers maintained by the big 
ranchmen. Once Payne was even forced 
to walk to Fort Smith, Ark., chained to 
the tail of an ox.cart, a distance of sev- 
eral hundred miles, and when he reached 
there was thrown into prison. The 
United States courts, however, always 
proved his friend, for he never experi- 
enced any difficulty in securing his re- 
lease through a writ of habeas corpus. 

FROM IXDIAXA. 

Payne's native state was Indiana and 
his birthplace Fairmount, in 1836. When 
a young man he moved to Kansas and 
settled in Doniphan county, from which 
district he was twice elected to the state 
legislature. Early in the '70s Payne 
went to Washington and acted as door- 



GKAVS DOXIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



12" 



keeper in the house of representatives 
during one session. While there he 
made examination into the records of the 
land department and conceived the idea 
that Oklahoma was a part of the public 
domain and as such subject to homestead 
entry. Congress, backed by the stock- 
men with their wealth and undenied in- 
fluence, had an entirely different idea on 
the subject and the tight of one man 
against the multitude commenced then. 
How well he won is shown by the fact 
that where once the countless herds of 
cattle, owned by his opponents, roamed 
there are now innumerable homes and 
fully 700.000 people hold him the father 
of their happiness This has taken 
place in less than a score of years, for 
the anniversary celebrated Friday was 
but the fifteenth since the opening of 
Oklahoma. 

IX CLOSE ACTIOX. 

It took years to bring about this open- 
ing, however, and to better advance his 
purpose Payne moved his home from 
Doniphan county to Sedgwick and made 
AVichita his headquarters. The tirst band 
of colonists which Payne took across the 
border were rounded up by the federal 
authorities and taken to Fort Smith, Ark., 
to jail. There was. however, no law 
making it a felony to trespass upon 
public lands and the party was immedi- 
ately released. Seven times in all did 
Payne cross the border and as many 
times were he and his determined band 
of homeseekers driven back or impris- 
oned. One of these expositions organ- 
ized a town called Rock Falls, near the 
present site of Enid. Here for six 



I months the j)arty was allowed to remain 
I in peace and Payne edited the War 
Chief, the tirst paper published in Okla- 
homa. For this colony Payne secured a 
seal, and as those composing the party 
were from Emporia, Kan., it was known 
as "Emporia Camp No. 2." Finally the 
cattlemen v^ere once more successful and 
the party composing the settlement of 
Rock Falls was driven from Oklahoma. 

HIS LAST INVASION. 

At last, after years of fighting, a ver- 
dict was secured in the federal court, 
sitting at Topeka. Kan., and the victory 
wns won. By this it \vr;s decreed that 
Oklahoma was public domain and home- 

I steaders were given a clear title to their 

I claims. Soon after Payne started for 
Oklahoma with another band of home- 

! seekers and while stopping over at Well- 
ington, Kan., he was taken suddenly ill 

{and died. The colonist he headed went 
on and many of them are now among the 
wealthiest and most re^pocted business 
men in the territory. 

In Oklahoma a man who has resided 
there for tifteen years is looked upon as a 
pioneer c%nd if he has been there live 
years or more he is eligible to member- 
ship in the old settlers' clubs. When 
statehood comes at the next session of 
congress Oklahoma will have been 
opened for settlement but seventeen 
years and been an organized territory a 
less time than any other ever admitted 
to the Union.— Kansas City Journal, 
April '2i. 1904. 



If you don't see what you want in Don- 
iphan County, ask for it. 



128 



GRAV'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



Clever With Gun and Pistol. 

Dr. R. S. Dinsmore of Troy. Kan., was 
born December 4th, 1853, at Washing- 
ton, Iowa. He graduated in 1878, and 
in the same year located at Troy, where 
he has been engaged in the practice of 
medicine. Being a great lover of the 
gun, his hours of recreation were gener- 
ally devoted to the trap, target or field 
shooting. He is best known among 
rifle men and pist(d shooters who have 
frequently witnessed some fine scores 
made at 200 yards, off hand, with the 
rifle, and fifty yards with the pistol. Dr. 
Dinsmore's best score of ten shots, at 200 
yards M'ith rifle, aggregated .94, on 
Standard American Target, and .433 for 
fifty shots at same distance and target. 
This shooting was done with a Ballard 
32-40, 185 grooved bullet. He has sev- 
enteen full scores of buirs-eyes at 200 
yards, off hand. His best score at fifty 
yards with a pistol for fifty shots aggre- 
gated 463 out of a possible 500 on a 
Standard American target (200 yard 
rifle). His highest score for ten shots at 
the same distance was 97 out of a possi- 
ble 100. This shooting was done with a 
Stevens 22-calibre pistol. About three 
yeai's ago the doctor temporarily gave up 
rifle and pistol shooting and gave his 
attention to the shot-gun. While not an 
expert with this weapon as with the 
former, he ranks as one of the best trap 
shots in the state. His best run at live 
pigeons was G3 although not all shot in 
the same day. His best run at inanimate 
targets was during the tournament at 
Seneca, Kan., in 1891, when he broke 93 
straight, and 98 out of 100. The doctor 



used a Parker Hammerless 12 gauge 
7 3-4 pounds, 2 5-8 drop. In his clay 
bird shooting he uses 2 3-4 dr. of E. C. 
powder and 1 1-8 oz. No. 7 chilled shot. 
—"Shooting and Fishing", Boston, 1892. 
Dr. Dinsmore has been chosen a mem- 
ber of the American Rifle Club, the only 
member irom Kansas. 



Rain and Flood. 

The third week in June, 1883, brought 
the heaviest rains and the most destruct- 
ive floods ever seen in the county. On 
Saturday night, June 16th, came the 
iieaviest rain of all which caused every 
stream, brook and rill in the whole coun- 
ty to overflow. We give a few extracts 
from the published account at the time. 

"Wolf River was never so high within 
the memory of living man; and, in fact, 
the same may be said of every creek, 
branch and gully in tlie county." 

"Tliere were but few bridges left in 
the county, either on railroads or wagon 
roads." 

"The railroads were washed out in all 
directions ; telegraph wires were down by 
the mile, and the roads were impassable 
for wagons on account of bridges being 
out. The only means of communication 
was by horse." 

"The bluffs above White Cloud slid 
down upon the railroad track. The de- 
pot at Wathena was swept away entire. 
Several houses in the lower part of the 
town were also carried away." 

"At Severance the lower part of the 
town was inundated, and nine or ten 
families wei"e compelled to get out of 
their houses and wade to drv land dur- 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



1^9 



ing the night. There was great damage 
to all the elevators and to Franklin and 
Frick's flouring mills." 

"At Leona, Mailler's grain warehouse 
was swung across the railroad track." 

"The whole of Highland Station was 
inundated before midnight, and the en- 
tire population sought shelter on higher 
grounds 

"The number of hogs, cattle and oth- 
er stock belonging to fanners living 
along the streams, carried away and 
drowned, is impossible to ascertain. No 
such public and individual losses have 
ever occurred in the county." 



Cheyenne Massacre. 

(May 28, 1868.) 

It was in the spring of 1868 that seven 
men, among whom were two pioneers of 
Doniphan county, named Phillip Burke 
and J. Leslie McChesney, equipped for a 
three weeks' hunt, went out to the grass 
lands beyond the Republican river to 
shoot big game. 

At that period regulars were in their 
saddles much of the time, scouring prai- 
rie and timber, in search of Indians who 
had murdered white men and carried off 
their wives and children, and it was 
known at every Fort that the Cheyennes 
had sworn to shoot any one found on 
their hunting grounds. But men in the 
west in those days were possessed of a 
spirit of daring which led them to enter 
eagerly upon any adventure which prom- 
ised danger or even risk to human life. 

As there were no buffalo at the point 
mapped out, the hunters pushed on until 
they found themselves in the very heart 



of the forbidden territory, where they 
saw a herd of buffalo grazing in a spring- 
fed plain and, forgetting that grave diffi- 
culties were likely to be encountered be- 
fore reaching civilization again, they 
lingered on the enchanted ground, tilling 
their wagons with hides and sun-dried 
jerk, while Banker Cole of Detroit, (a 
relative of McChesney's), succeeded in 
capturing two tine calves which he in- 
tended bringing Lack with him to exhibit 
to friends as trophies of the chase. Fin- 
ally sometliing convinced the Doniphan 
county nwn, both of whom were old 
buffalo luinters, that they were being 
tracked, and one of them taking a tield 
glass scanned tlie j)rairie in tlie hope of 
discovering another party of hunters Avho 
were supposed to be in that vicinity; but 
instead of a train of canvas covered wag- 
ons a large company of horsemen were 
seen on a distant bluff, and next day 
while hurrying eastward, the same com- 
pany of horsemen was seen again and 
moving in the same direction. Wagons 
were now unloaded and the horses put to 
their greatest speed, but the })ursuers 
kept even pace. A halt was made that 
night at the ruins of an old log Fort on 
the Solomon river, where the hunters 
prepared for an attack, for half the party 
were veterans of the Civil War and had 
faced danger many times before. Towards 
morning a faint stir was heard and every 
man gripped his gun as the naked body 
of an ugl)' Savage crawled out from be- 
hind the logs and springing to his feet 
ran off into the darknefls, barking like a 
coyote, when instantly the whole forest 
echoed with an answering cry. Determ- 
ining to abandon the wagons and escape 



i3C 



GKAV'S DONIPHAN COUNT V ITJsrOKV 



on foot if possible, the others made hasty 
preparations for the journey while Mar- 
crept out toward the open to turn the 
lariated horse. But all plans failed, for 
at that moment a signal was given and 
the whole army of C'heyennes dashed 
down the bluff into the little camp below, 
when the short and bloody work began. 
Besides the others already mentioned 
there were Reuben \\ inklepleek, his sou 
Alonzo, and a nephe\s. Edward Winkle- 
pleck and Charles Cole, son of Norn^.an 
Cole — half a dozen against a huudi-ed or 
more blood tiur^ty demons armed with 
all manner of weapDiis known to savage 
warfare, from a plentiful supply of U. S. 
bullets to clubs, tomaliawks and poisoned 
arrows, and Mgliting upon their own 
ground. 

Wliilt' his comrades were being shot 
and clubbed to death Mac fled to the 
river. The scene of carnage was fol- 
lowed by a feast and dance after which 
the bodies were stripped and robbed, the 
harness cut to jiieces and the horses led 
away. The escape of the only survivor 
reads like a romance, for he lay in the tall 
grass by day and walked all night, iinal- 
ly reaching Scandia, the nearest settle- 
ment, where a party was made up to re- 
turn with him to the scene of the massa- 
cre, to dig temporary graves for the poor 
scalped and mutilated bodies. 

E. McC. L. 



The St. Joseph & (iraiitl Island Road. 

From the St. Joseph & Grand Island 
Hailroad Company's "Souvenir", present- 
ed in 1895, we glean the following inter- 
esting paragraphs, giving an outline his- 
tory of "the pioneer road". 



As this is the pioneer road of the state 
of Kansas, it will be necessary, in writ- 
ing a history of it, to go back to the 
early history of Kansas. The section of 
country tributary to the road was a part 
of Missouri Territory, and, in 1854, 
when the Kansas and Nebraska Act was 
passed, was comprised in the "Great 
American Desert". The only part of 
Kansas that was then believed as likely 
ever to be of value was north of thf 
Kansas river, and west as far as the Big 
Blue river. The rest was esteemed to be 
the home and heritage of the wanderino- 
Indian tribes and buffalo. Kansas was 
inhabited by many tril>es of Indians, who 
had reservations. Upon the northern 
part, opposite St. Joseph, were the Sac 
and Fox Indians and the Iowa Indians 
removed from this side and once owners 
of the Platte Purchase. 

'oseph Robidoux had, in 182(3, estab- 
I'shed a trading post at the mouth of the 
Blacksnake to catch the trade of the In- 
dians passing from Agency Ford, Grand 
River and V^estern Missouri, to High- 
land, Doniphan county. Kansas, where 
there was quite an Indian settlement. 
At that time, the country, after passing a 
: few miles west of St, Joseph, was cov- 
ered with buffalo grass. The rains were 
i infrequent in summer and grass and herb- 
age generally dried up by August, so it 
j was hardly possible to pass over the 
country west of the river in the fall or 
winter wi h teams. In 1853-4—5, there 
was no running water from June until 
November, bet.veen the Missouri river 
and the Big Blue. Parties from St. 
Joseph sending out goods in wagons tv 
the stations durinii: these months, had to 



GUAV'S DOXIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



131 



carry water with them. At this day 
there are roany streams and hundreds of 
springs that never go dry. This change 
is largely due to the act of cultivating 
the ground and the cessation of Imrning 
the grass every Fall by the Indians, in 
order to con tine the game to the small, 
wooded valleys of winter streams. 

A ferry was established at the Big- 
Blue at a Pawnee trading post, now 
known as Marysville. and in 1853 Gen. 
Frank Marshall and James Doniphan 
bought it. and in 1854 they laid out the 
town of Marysville. named it after Mrs. 
Mary Marshal! and called the county 
Marshall after General ^larshall. 

In 1849 the United States sent out a 
regiment of soldiers, laid out a route 
known as the military road from Ft. 
Leavenworth to the Big Blue at Marys- 
ville, and built forts at Laramie. Furt 
Hall and the Dalles, and this was the 
main route traveled by the Argonauts of 
California south of the Platte for many 
years by much the larger number. 

In 1850 a large part of the California 
emigration crossed at St. Joseph, and 
passed up Peter's creek to Troy, Kansas, 
and united with the military road at 
Kennekenick (Kennekuk), in Brown 
county, and thence to the Big Blue at 
Marysville. When the territory was ad- 
mitted in 1854, many settlers rushed into 
Doniphan county, as the lands were 
esteemed valuable; but settlements were 
pushed out in Brown and Nemaha slowly, 
and in Marshall up to 1861 there were 
but few settlers except at small towns 
and stage stations. Marshall county, now 
one of the largest corn producing coun- 



ties of the state, was believed to be a 
barren soil, unable to produce anything 
except sunflowers and buifalo grass. Be- 
yond the Big Blue but few settlements 
were made until the railroad penetrated 
that region. 

In 1854. ^SlcGraw, conductor for the 
stage line across the continent, estab- 
lished stations at Guitau's, nine miles 
this side of Marysville; another near 
Hanover, called Hollenberg; another at 
the mouth of Elk Creek, where it joins 
the Little Blue; another on the Big San- 
dy, one at the I^one Elm in the Platte 
Valley and then at Fort Kearney. 

The idea of the originators of the St. 

Joseph & Grand Island railroad was to 

I follow, as near as the topography of the 

eountrv would allow, this route to the 

[ valley of the Big Platte, and then to the 

; Pacitic as laid out by the military road. 

I The country is now a jiroliric farming 

region, one of the most highly cultivated 

and productive in the Union. Corn, 

I wheat, rye. oats and barley, all seem 

'adapted to the soil, a n<i respond to the 

' cultivation as magniiicently as anv in the 

I world. Blue grass seems indigenous to 

'the soil, and always follows cultivation, 

I The buffalo grass has long since depart- 

ied.and is supplanted, in the uncultivated 

' lands, by the rich, nutricious blue stem, 

which makes fat and bone ior the cow, 

; and the soil grows the most elegant 

' clover, and is now covered by thousands 

' of graded hogs.- 

In 1856-7, under what was a s:reat 

I Western emigration, St. Joseph had 

what has since been known as a boom. 

: In 1856 an individual named Rose landed 



132 



GKAV'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



here, and proposed to enlighten the citi- 
zens as to the best mode of making cities. 
After a few weeks' contact with Gen. 
Jeflf. Thompson, Recorder Dolman, Col. 
Tierman, and several of St. Joseph's 
progressive men, he concluded that Le 
did not know more than all the St. Joseph 
men, and went over the river to what is 
now known as Elwood. and called it 
RosBport, aft^r himself. In the mean- 
time a colony of Sonth Carolinians, be- 
coming tired of trying to make Kansas a 
slave state, bought the claim adjoining 
Marysville and called the town Palmetto, 
and in Ft-hraary, 1857. the Kansas legis- 
lature passed an act chartering a railroad 
from St. Joseph to the Big Blue. "The 
Marysville, Palmetto raid Roseport rail- 
road", entitled as follows: "An Act to 
incorporate the Marysville or Palmetto 
and Kosejiort Railroad Company; ap- 
proved February ] 7th, 1857." 

The charter named as incorporators, 
Robt. JM. Stewart, afterwards governor 
of Missouri; \V. 1*. Richardson, Indian 
Agent at Doniphan, Kansas; Gen. F. J. 
Marshall, then of Marysville; Bela M. 
Hughes. St. Joseph; Richard Rose, A. 
M. Mitchell. Reuben Middleton, R. H. 
Jenkins, Fred. ^V. Smith, and W. S. 
Brewster. 

On the '20th of February, 185 7, the 
Territorial Legislature of Kansas incor- 
porated the St. Joseph & Topeka R. R. 
Co. The incorjutrators were mostly citi- 
zens of Kansas, and the city of St. Joseph 
voted to aid the c(>nipany, and oh the 
20th of October, 1851', a contract was en- 
tered into between these two companies 
to own the right-of-wav jointly for the 



railroad from Elwood, or Roseport, to 
Troy, and use the same track. This road 
afterwards changed its route and ran 
down the river from Wathena to Doni- 
phan and thence to Atchison. It was 
long since sold out at forclosure, and the 
right-of-way purchased by Jay Gould and 
sold to the Rock Island after the track 
had been removed and the iron sent west 
to lay switches, side tracks, etc., on the 
Grand Island. 

But we will go back to the Marysville 
& Roseport C ompany. The seventh sec- 
tion of the original Act, approved Fel>- 
ruary 17th, 1857, gave the company pow- 
er to survey, work, locate and construct 
a railroad from Marysville to Roseport, 
in the Territory of Kansas, so as to con- 
nect with the Hannibal tfc St. Joseph. 

This company was organized on the 
ilUth of February. 185 7. when dve direc- 
tors were chosen. 

At the next meeting, held July I'itli. 
1859. a new board of directors was or- 
ganized, and the road ordered located to 
Troy. S. K. Miller was elected superin- 
tendent of construction of the road. 

In 1860, three miles of track were 
graded and ties and iron laid to near 
Wathena. the company having an engine 
named the "Mud-Cat". 

At a meeting of the stockholders held 
April 17th, 1862, the name of the ^larys- 
ville or Palmetto & Roseport R. R. Co , 
was changed to the St. Joseph it I-emer 
R. R. Co., uiider an act of th.e Kansr.s 
legislature of March, 1862. Xotiiing 
was done from 1862 to 1866, when a lo- 
cal company was forire-l under the gen- 
eral incorporation laws of Kansas, known 



GKAVS DOXIPHAX COUNTY HISTORY 



133 



as "The yortheru Kansas and Telegraph 
Company"". 'The incorporators were citi- 
zens of Kansas, and it was framed under 
belief that it could get aid from tiie state 
of Kansas and more favorable legislation 
than the old St. Joseph &: Denver R. R. 
Co., on account of the connection of Gen. 
Jeff. Thompson and other southerners 
with that road in its earlier history, as 
well as to secure a grant of 125,000 acres 
.^f land from the state of Kansas, which it 
was feared could not l>e held by the St. 
Joseph »S: Denver R. R. Co. Articles of 
incorporation were signed on the 17th of 
January. 1S66. under the general railroad 
laws of 1865, of the state of Kansas, and 
were signed by Thomas A. Osborne. 
Frank H. Drenning. Sol Miller and C. 
E. Fox of Doniphan county: Ini Lacock. 
Samuel Speer, and C. E. Parker of 
Brown county: Geo. Graham of Nemaha 
county: E. C. Manning and J. D. Brum- 
bongh of Marshall cotinty, and Henry 
Hollenberg and D. E. Ballard of Wash- 
ington county, all of Kansas. After an 
organization by the el xrlion of a board of 
directors in May. 1S66. Samuel Lappin 
was elected president, and terms of con- 
solidation were agreed upon with the St. 
Joseph & Denver Railroad, and on Octo- 
ber 9th, 1S66. the consolidation ttx)k 
place, and the old name of St. Joseph «.t 
Denver Railroad was retained. 

January 7th. 1S66. MaJ. T. J. Chew 
was elected president and John Severance 
engineer, and the work was commence<i 
from Wathena west, and on October 
15th. 1S67. Gen. James Craig was elected 
president, when the City of St. Joseph 
voted 1500. OuO stock to the road, for 
which bonds were issued, and are now a 



part of the indebtedness of the ciiv, hav- 
ing been renewed and assumed by the 
city. On October 13th. 1S6S, Gen. Geo. 
Hall was elected president, and in 1869 
the road was built to Troy and located 
to Hiawatha, and the county of Doni- 
phan voted bonds to aid its construction. 
On the 23d of July, 1866. an act was 
passeil by congress, granting the odd sec- 
tions of land as far west as the 100th 
meridian of longitude, west, to the 
Wathena, Kansas. Railroad «Sr Telegraph 
Company, for the beneiit of the St. Jo- 
seph & Denver Railroad Company for 
ten miles on each side of the line. At 
that time the road was located to Han- 
over, and it is l>elieved by many that a 
mist.ike was made in the further location. 
If the road had been located up the Re- 
publican river toward Denver the compa- 
ny would have obtained over one and a 
half million acres of good land. By the 
location made it received upon liual pat- 
ents 640.000 acres, less than one-half, 
and inferior lands, as the prior land 
grants to the Union Pacitic and the Bur- 
lington and Missouri Jiiver Railroad 
Companies covered about two-thirds of 
the land that the company would have 
obtained had it been the oldest grant. 

On October •2 7th. 1869, General Hall 
was re-elected president. On the 1 1th of 
October. 1870. Dudley M. Steele wa.s 
electe*! president and Milton Tootle vice 
president, and construction pushed to 
Marysville in February. 1871. In Octo- 
ber. 1871. D. M. Steele was re-elected 
president and the road was completed to 
Alexandria, in Nebraska that year. In 
November. IS72. D. M. Steele resigned 
and H. C. Tanner of New York, was 



134 



GKAV'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



elected president of the road, and it was ^ she became offended at some trivial mat- 
completed in December, 1872, to Hast- ' ter and started, alone, for her home five 
in^, Nebraska. 227 miles from St. ! miles west. She had not proceeded far 
Joseph. ' when a blinding snow storm broke upon 

In 1873. William Bond of New Y'ork. ' her with all its merciless fury, which 
was elected president, and held the posi- ' soon oblitered the dim pathway she wa^* 
tion until 1875, when the first mortgage I following. 

bondholders sold the road in a foreclos- j Dr. Jonathan Leigh, now of Hiawatha, 
ure, and it was organized again as the Kan., who amputated her feet, gives the 
St. Joseph & Western Railroad, and Mr. following account of this sad occurrance: 
Bond was receiver, and with L. D. Tut-; "About the first of March. 1857 or 
hill operated it until 1879, when Jay | is5 8, I was called to Miss Martha Per- 



Gould bousrht a controlling interest. 



kins, who lived on Cedar Creek, five 



In 1879. L. D. Tuthill. Major Hansen ' miles southwest of Iowa Point. On my 
and John Doniuhan orsfanized the Hast- ' arrival I found both feet dark in color. 

r ._ 1 

ings & Grand Island R. R. and with the i cold and in a state of complete gan- 
capital furnished by Mr. Gould, built the grene. I learned from the family that 
25 miles of road from Hastings to Grand early in the preceding January she went 
Island, there forming a connection with to Iowa Point to attend a party, where 
the Union Pacific, and it was consolidat- she remained till the following evening, 
ed as a rsart of the St. Joseph ct Western ; when she started home afoot and alone. She 
Railroad. ; was soon overtaken by a blinding snow 

In 1885. the road was re-organized and -storm with a strong north wind (a first- 
named the St. Joseph & Grand Island ' class blizzard), which soon obliterated 
Railroad Company, which is its present the little trail she was following. Night 
title. came on and she became bewildered, not 

knowing the direction she was going. 

A Voiiiis: (tIi'I's Adventure. So she wandered around in that dreadful 

It was not an uncommon occurrance storm until, (they supposed) about 1 
on the frontiers in an early day, when the ' o'clock in the morning, when she found 
countrv was sparsely settled, for persons ' a bank near a small branch. She gath- 
who ventured out in the winter tobejered some tall weeds that stood two or 
overtaken bv a snow storm, and either three feet above the snow, which was 



frozen to death or so b.idly frozen that 
amputation of feet or hands was necessa- 
rv to save their lives. A circtimstanee 



about ten inches deep, stuck them down 
in the snow in a semi-circle, to form a 
kind of wind break, and crouched down 



of this kind occurred west of Iowa Point ' in her little weed hovel, where she ex- 



about the year 1857. A young lady. 
Miss Martha Perkins, who lived on Cedar 
Creek, attended a party in Iowa Point in 



pected to die before morning. 

As soon as it was learned that she had 
left Iowa Point but a short time before 



January or February of that year, where , the approaoli of the storm (blizzard). 



(iRAVS DONIPHAN COL'NTY HISTORY 



135 



seaching parties started in all direotioas. i 
At the end of the third day she was dis- 
covered and in a semi-conscious condition. 
Three days and nights in such a storm 
would seem to be beyond endurance. 

At my visit in March, amputation was 1 
suggested which was readily agreed to. I 
Three days later at noon was the time ! 
set for the operation. As there was no 
physician whom I could invite to assist j 
me, I requested the father to invite two ■ 
or three of the neighbors that I might ; 
have some assistance if necessary-. On ; 
arriving at the appointed time I found ; 
four men and their wives all ready to 
render any assistance they could. The 
tirst thing to consider was the constrac- . 
tion of some sort of an operating table. ; 
This was soon decided. An old quilt '■ 
was spread on the rough floor of the 
shanty and a stick of woo<i for a pillow; . 
that was all there was to it. I asked the 
men if any of them could administer 
chloroform and they all answered in the 
negative. I commenced the a<iminist ra- 
tion of the anaesthetic and when. as it often 
happens, the j:»atient reached the j:K)int of 
sub-consciousness, she began to mutter, ■ 
then to talk louder and loader, my assist- 
ants all thought the patient was dyinor. 
One man bolted for the door and the 
others followed like sheep« j ampins a 
fence till the patient and my>*?lf were left 
alone. Bat when the patient was suffi- 
ciently anaesthetLze<l I got ilown on mv 
knees on the floor and removed the of- 
fending parts, dressed the stumps and re- 
maine«i with my patient till next morn- 
ing, when I left her comfortable and 
hopeful. The recovery was somewhat 
tedious but complete. 



A Reminiseenee. 

In the year 1S3S. my brothers located 
a general merchandise store midway be- 
tween the Blacksnake Hills and Weston 
on the Missouri river, and did a general 
business with the inhabitants of that 
country, and also had a large trade with 
the Sac and Fox Indians. In the year 
1841, my father's family moved to the 
Platte Purchase and settletl on a claim 
opposite the place where Doniphan now 
stands in Doniphan coimty. Kansas. In 
the year 1842. the Indian agent at Fort 
Nemaha noticed my brothers that a pay- 
ment was about to be made to the Sac 
and Fox Indians and invited them to be 
present, and make their collections. 
They proceeded to the agency. I going 
along. My age then was 12 years. 

We crossed the Missouri river in an 
Indian canoe, and taking the old Indian 
trail to the divide near Independence 
creek and passing near where John L. 
Berry lived, crossed the Wolf river near 
the Sac and Fox village, and arrived at 
Fort Nemaha agency in the evening. 
Major Richardson was the U. S. Indian 
' agent and John W. Foreman was the 
farmer for the Iowa, ."^ac and Fox In- 
dians. The major and Mr. Foreman 
were Kentuckians. and from the blue 
grass region, and here we beg to remark, 
that their latch strings were hanging out 
and the proverbial Kentucky hospitality 
was constantly on top. 

Our visit was extended for several 
days, and was a very pleasant one. the 
major taking great interest in the matter 
of the collections, for which purpose 
my brothers were at the agency. We 
, digress to remark that a few years after- 



136 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTOKV 



wards the major's only child, a daughter, 
was married to Willard P. Hall, who 
accompanied Gen. A. W. Doniphan on 
his memorable campaign through Santa 
Fe and old Mexico, and was at the round- 
up of the Mexican army at Sacramento, 
where General Doniphan captured the 
entire outfit and '-ten acres of sheep". 
"Willard P. Hall was afterwards governor 
of Missouri, and one of the ablest judges 
of the supreme court of Missouri. 

Our trip to the Nemaha agency has al- 
ways been a pleasant memory and remi- 
niscence that will never be forgotten. 
John W. Foreman is well known to the 
people of Doniphan county, and the des- 
tiny of the writer is closely linked with 
the interests and the advancements of the 
county. 

In the year 1851, James F. Foreman, 
who had been an assistant farmer at the 
agency, was granted permission to estab- 
lish a trading post at the point where 
afterwards the town of Doniphan was 
located. The appointment of Mr. Fore- 
man as a trader was only to secure the 
location for a town site when the land 
should be purchased, as the Indian agent 
evidently knew would soon occur. 

In the year 185-1, tlie writer with some 
others rrossed the Missouri river at Iowa 
Point, Wm. Banks operating the ferry. 
We camped near the river the tirst night, 
and the second night we camped on Cedar 
creek at the crossing of the St. Joseph 
Overland route. We recall that that 
night there was a Frenchman with some 
eight or ten wagons and voyagers en- 
camped there, going to Brown's Hole in 
the mountains. The wagons were load- 
ed with Indian goods and provisions, 



ammunition, etc., etc. I suppose the etc., 
etc., was about ten barrels of copper dis- 
tilled whisky, which is said to be an 
antidote for snake bites, tarantula and 
centipede poisons. Our destination was 
Fort Kearney, where we remained for a 
considerable time, buying broken down 
cattle, horses and mules. On our return 
to Big Blue river, Francis J. Marshall 
informed us that a treaty had been made 
for the lands embracing the territories of 
Kansas and Nebraska. We then pro- 
ceeded to the Missouri river and camped 
on the bottoms below Iowa Point, which 
afterwards became the property of H. 
Guthrie, who died a year or so since. 

During the month of August my broth- 
er, Milton, and myself went up Wolf 
river to see how the land lay, and went 
into caaip near the old Sac village, the 
Indians having moved away. The camp 
was near a little stream which was crossed 
by the Indian trail, a thicket of brush 
being near our camp. Milton Utt went 
to the agency in the afternoon, leaving 
the writer in charge of the camp. I had 
spent an hour or two reading when, 
glancing up the bottom towards Hooper's 
ford, I saw what caused my hair to 
'-stand ]>at", for not more than 300 yards 
away was about seventy-tive Indians ,who 
proved to be Pawnees, advancing. Each 
warrior was carrying a long lance, the 
point of which glistening in the sun, 
shown brilliant and beautiful. Each 
member of the band carried his bow and 
quiver of arrows at his back. My long 
acquaintance with Indians and their ways 
came to my aid, and stepping out from 
the brush into the path, I gave them a 
sign to halt which they did very prompt- 



GKAVS DONIPHAN COL'NTY HISTORY 137 

ly. I then gave them a sign for one to in Doniphan county and one named 

advance. The leader, a fine six-foot Luther Dickinson in Atchison county, 

brave, dressed in war paint and feathers. The Troy Chief thinks Flanagan an older 

>tepj:>ed up to within about ten feet, when settler than Dickinson, but Uncle Billy 

I halted him. In sign language I asked Brittain has Flanagan beaten by a couple 

who they were and where going. The of months 

Mr. Brittain was born near Spencer. 



chief answered that they were on a visit 
to the lowas to smoke and feast and 



Owen count V. Ind., in 1828, and lived 



would then go home: that they had been there with his parents till 1836, when 
between the Blue rivers and had a tight they moved to Louisa county. luwa, and 
with roving Cheyennes, and he showed in 1^39^ moved to the Platte Purchase 
two scalps to prove that what he said near St. Joseph. Mo. There with his 
wa* true I had previously advised him younger brother he assisted his father, 
that I was a Missourian. By this time j^hn Brittain. in opening up a large farm 
several of the band came forward, and I jn the bottoms twelve miles trom St. 
told the chief to send the young back to Joseph. John Brittain dieii in 1846. 
their line; that I would permit but one ^ William and his mother and six younger 
to do the talking: then I made a sign ; brothers resided on the farm till 1850, 
that they could pass to the left, which ^^-heu they returned to Indiana. That 
they did in good order. They displayed summer he was married to Sarah Smith 
several scalps and other trophies as they and in the fall they returned to the old 
passed. They were all large, tine look- homestead in Missouri, where he and his 
ing warriors, rigged out in fantastic In- ^jfe lived till Kansas was opened up for 
dian toggery and making a display that settlement. In June, 1854, he crossed 
will never be witnessed on old Wolf ^ the Missouri river and took a claim and 
river again. After I got rid of them v^nilt a small log cabin. In the fall of 
you can imagine that I felt greatly re- that year he moved his family, consist- 
lieved. They went on out to the lowas jing of hu« wife and twoVhildren. to their 
and put in several days feasting and new home in the territory. Here he ex- 
smoking, and then retumetl to thtir own perienced all the hardships and vicissi- 
rerservation near Columbus, Nebraska, mdes attending first settlement of Kan- 
and that was the last visit of the Paw- g^s. The Indians were daily visitors at 
nees to Doniphan county. Jo. Utt. | his home during the first winter in Kan- 



Isas. 



The Oldest Kansans. ; In 1S56. came the great struggle as to 

From the Alton ^^Ka^. ) Empire, Sep whether Kansas should be a free or slave 
tember 18. 190-2. we glean the following: state. Great excitement prevailed through- 
Probably the oldest living settler in out the country. It was an almost daily 
Kansas today is Wm. Brittain of Alton, occurrence to hear of some one Ijeing 
The contest for that distinguishment has .bushwhacked and shot down on the pub- 
been confined to a man nameil Flanagan | lie highway. L'ncle Billy, whose senti- 



138 



(tKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



ments were so hunted down by the Pro- 
Slavery party that he was forced to hide 
his horses in the dense brush, and cross 
to the other side of the river. Mrs. 
Brittain carried water and feed to the 
horses for over three weeks. After the 
excitement subsided he returned liou^e 
to his family. Soon after this the elec- 
tion was held and Mr. Brittain served as 
one of the judges of election. He says 
Major Richardson brought over a cannon 
and a barrel of whisky and all the street 
whittlers he could get to follow him, 
voted them all and carried the election. 
Then they established a pro-slavery 
court and Wm. Brittain, Wm. Chapman 
and Nicholas Holmes were arraigned be- 
fore that court, tried and found guilty 
of treason for serving as judges of elec- 
tion for the Free State party and fined 
*25 each, which they paid. This hap- 
pened at Bellemont in Doniphan county. 
The court proceedings were, of course, a 
farce and a bluff, and merely an incident 
of the lawlessness and feeling at that 
time and place. But finally the Free 
State party came into power and Mr. 
Brittain and his party felt easier. Mr. 
Brittain acted as one of Jim Lane's body 
guards when that noted gentleman 
passed through Doniphan county on his 
way to Lawrence in 1856. 

Uncle Billy enlisted in the Thirteenth 
Kansas Volunteer Infantry at Troy, 
Doniphan county, on the 5th day of 
September, 1862, and immediately start- 
ed south. His entire service was in 
Southern Missouri and Arkansas. He 
was wounded at the battle of Prairie 
Grove, Ark., in 1863, and discharged at 
Springfield, Mo. He returned home and 



in the fall of 1863, enlisted in Co. F. 
Kansas State Militia and fought in the 
battle against Price in Jackson county, 
Mo., south of Kansas City. 

In 1878, Mr. Brittain came to Osborne 
county and settled on a claim in Hawk- 
eye township, where he resided until 
1896, when he sold out and located at 
Alton. 

Uncle Billy is a fine old man. He was 
not only in the service of his country in 
the rebellion, but took a prominent part 
in the battles of 1856 for a free state of 
Kansas. He has voted for every Repub- 
lican president from Lincoln down to 
McKinlev- 



St. Joseph's First Boomer. 

The first live real estate man to do 
business in St. Joseph was Colonel An- 
drew G. Ege, a tall, straight, active 
Marylander, according to one of the old- 
est residents, who adds that he was a 
hustler. "It was before the settlement 
of Kansas that the colonel and his refined 
family settled here," relates the News. 
"They were wealthy, intelligent South- 
ern people, and soon became very popu- 
lar with all classes. About this time 
Judge Henry M. Vories, lived on a farm 
of ten acres about half a mile north of 
the court house. It was woody then, 
with a country road winding around on 
top of the hill, leading to the Vories 
ifarm and beyond. Colonel Ege conclud- 
ed that he would buy the land, and after 
I dickering for some time over the price, 
finally made a purchase, paying $1,000 
I an acre. People were amazed when told 
I of farm land being sold for ^1,000 an 
I acre, and concluded that the colonel had 



GKAV'S DONIPHAN COl^^TY HISTORY 



139 



more money than judgment. Not long 
after his purchase the land was platted 
into town lots, which were readily sold, 
and Ege made a great deal of money on 
the speculation. Ege's additions are still 
a part of the city, and a very important 
part, too. Judge Vories left about that 
time and went to California, but returned 
after some years, not meeting with suc- 
cess in the golden state, and was elected 
chief justice of the Missouri supreme 
court. Colonel Ege went to Kansas as 
one of the earliest pioneers, securing 
nearly 10,000 acres of land in Doniphan 
county, and became a notable citizen of 
the Javhawker state."— K. C. Journal. 



Mrs. L. M. Blackford. 

Mrs. L. M. Blackford, mother of Rev. 
O. J. Blackford, pastor of the Tabernacle 
Methodist Episcopal church, Detroit, is 
one of the few persons who can remem- 
ber over the entire history of railroad de- 
velopment in the United States. Fur- 
thermore, she was one ol the passengers 
on the first successful railroad train which 
made its trial trip in the summer of 1830. 

The father of Mrs. Blackford— then 
Leah M. Blake, a little girl of 6— was a 
merchant in Portland, Me. He frequent- 
ly went to New York on business, often 
taking members of his family with him. 
He and his daughter were in New York 
on one of these occasions when it became 
noised about that a train of "steam cars" 
was to make a trial run from Troy to 
Schenectady. Mr. Blake went immediate- 
ly to Troy, and he and Leah were among 
the "tourists" of this memorable trip. 
Mrs. Blackford recalls quite vividly the 
crude train which ran on wooden rails at 



the rate of about twelve miles an hour. 
There are other incidents in Mrs. 

Blackford's life that are quite worthy of 
j mention. She and her husband, Rev. 
I Ira B. Blackford, a Methodist minister, 
j were leaders in the founding, in 1857, of 
jBakerun iversity. Baldwin City, Kansas, 
I and she was one of the first teachers of 
, languages there. It is interesting to 
I note that among the special things taught 
I in the early history of this university 
1 were music, drawing, painting and em- 

broideiy. Reverend and Mrs. Blackford 
i were also prominent in the organization 
. of the Kansas conference at Topeka, 1855. 
\ Daring the civil war Mrs. Blackford, 
j with other brave women— while their hns- 
I bauds were at the front— helped to man 

the guns at Fort Leavenworth. 
I Lentil recent years Mrs. Blackford was 
j well known as an able lecturer. Her 
j last public address was given in Saginaw 
' on Memorial Dav, 1898, when she took 
! the place of her son, who was unable to 
I till the engagement. 

! This lady was a resident of '"Columbus 
I City'', (1855-6). as she quaintly calls the 

knobs of farm land ov^erlooking Burr 

Oak Bottoms, at a point fourteen miles 
i northeast of Troy, Kan., and although 

eighty years of age with face as fair as a 

girl's and faculties alert, her eye kindles 
j and her dear heart warms right up to the 
} suVjject as she talks of the days of pio- 
' neer Methodism in Doniphan county. 

E. McC* L. 



Doniphan county made it possible for 
St. Joseph to become a great city. Atch- 
ison, too, drew much of her life blood 
from our soil. 



140 



GKAV'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



Some Early Birds. 

[Meii who came and settled iu Wayne 
Township from 1854 to 1857.] 

LIST OF THE DEAD. 

B. S. Whorton, 
John 3IeNeemee, 
John Harding, 
David Lee, 

Col. A. G. Ege, 
Frank McCoy, sr., 
Wni. K. Shaw, 
John Foman, 
James F. Forman, 
Hilsman Jarret, 
Richard Vest, 
Lambert Holling, 
James Lancaster, 
James Butler, 
Isaac Spencer, 
Adam Brenner, 
George txraee, 
William Ledinglon, 
Alex. Dunning, 
Samuel Neece, 
Benj. Hudson, 
A. Low, 

C. A. Low, 
Clark Low, 
John Whittaker, 
Capt. Hanson, 

A. B. Symns, sr., 
William Roberts, 
Doctor Hudnall, 
Jacob I. Scott, 
John Tracy, 
Doctor Welch, 
Henry Bender, 
E. W. Stratton, 
John Starr, sr,, 
David Hoppins, 



Jaciob Smith, 
Milton Norman, 
Richard Demsey, 
William Buster, 
John R. Buster, 
Silas Loyd, 
William Pickett, 
John Landis, 
Michael Forrest, sr., 
William M. Ege, 
Andrew Colgan, 
Austin S. Forman, 
William Spencer, 
Robert Graham, sr., 
Robert Graham, jr., 
James H. Lane, 
George Buck, 
James Shaw, 
Conway Murry, 
Taswell Parr, 
Henry Beauchamp, 
Edward Beauchamp, 
William Matheny, sr., 
Jacob Matheny, 
Tim Spencer. 

LIST OF THE LIVING. 

Geo. M. Waller. 
Maj. Barney O'Driscoll 
Edward A. Ege. 
William Lancaster, 
John Lancaster, 
A. M. Spencer, 
A. M. Patterson, 
T. W. Langan, 
Michael Langan, 
George Brock, 
Jerry James, 
Frank Neece, 
J. W. Low, 
John Earhart, 



GRAV'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



141 



C. B. Roundy, 
Edward Whorton, 
M. L. Hudnall, 

C. J. Drury, 
Barney Murphy, 
Gus Katner, 

W. P. Symns, 
Jeff. L. McNeemee, 
David Loyd, 
Andrew Loyd, 
Joseph Kent, 
Ham. Kent, 
Daniel Landis, 
Richard Willis, 
Isaac Martin, 
W. H. Martin, 
Thomas Flanagan, 
W. H. Nesbit, 
Abner Perry, 

D. M. Johnson, 
John M. Ege, 
Joseph Beauchamp, 
William Matheny. 

List furnished by Edward W. Ege. 



The Squaws' Trail. 

Sugar creek, which skirts the Brown 
farm, was so called because in the early 
days the Kaw Indians used to gather 
there every spring, and beg permission 
to tap the hard maple trees along the 
creek for sugar. They were peaceable, 
and permission was always granted. A 
path led across the land owned by Alex- 
ander Brown, which originated some- 
where near Doniphan, on the other side 
of the river, and was made by squaws. 
Reaching the river at Doniphan, the 
squaws would take the canoes and row 
over into Missouri. With furs on their 
backs, they traveled a distance of eight 
miles to trade at the mill of "General" 
Martin. Here they exchanged their furs 
for flour or meal. Then these women 
would start back on the eight mile walk, 
a sack of meal on each weary back, and 
oftentimes a papoose tied on top of the 
sack. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



/^ISCSLLAHGOUS SKSTCHeS, 



(CONTIXUIO)) 



THE KANSAS INDIANS. 

By Pryor Plank, 
Eagle Springs, Doniphan County, Kans. 



It is not generally known that the 
Kansas Indians inhabited this region 
when they were tirst known to civilized 
man . 

The early history of this tribe, like the 
origin of their ancestors, is sealed up in 
the arcluves of prehistoric times which 
antiquariaiis have been trying to pry 
open ever since Columbus discovered this 
continent in 1492. 

The tirst account we have of this tribe 
they were living on the "Pekitanoul" 
(Missouri) river in 1670, where they 
probably had been living for a long time 
previous to that. Marquette, who gives 
us this account, says: "Six or seven days 
below the Hois (Illinois) river, is another 



great river on which are prodigious na- 
tions, who used wooden canoes. We 
cannot write more till next year, if God 
give us the grace to lead us there." One 
of these "prodigious nations" was the 
Kanza Indians, as they were then called. 
This expedition, however, did not take 
place until 1673, when Marquette accom- 
panied by Joliet, embarked on the waters 
of the Mississippi and discovered the 
mouth of the Missouri river. This ac- 
count says: "Following the course of the 
river toward another called Pekitanoui, 
which empties into the Mississippi, com- 
ing from the northwest, of which I have 
something considerable to say, after 
what I have remarked of this river. We 
judged from the direction the Mississippi 
takes, that it keeps on the same course it 
has its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. It 
would be very advantageous to tind that 



GKArs DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



143 



which leads to the South Sea toward 
California, and this, as I said, I hoped to 
hnd by Pekitanoui, following the account 
which the Indians had given me, for 
from them I learned that advancing up 
this river for tive or six days you come 
to a beautiful prairie twentv to thirty 
leagues long, which you must cross to 
the northwest. It terminates at another 
little river on which you can embark, it 
not being difficult to transport our canoes 
over so beautiful a country as that prai- 
rie. The second river runs southwest 
lor ten or dfteen leagues, after which it I 
enters a small lake which is a source of | 
a deep river, running to the west where 
it empties into the sea." 

LaSalle repeated Marquette's expedi- 
tion in 1681-2, leaving the mouth of the 
Illinois river January 13, 1682. This ac- 
count says: -Then we set out and six 
leagues lower down found the Ozage 
(Missouri) river, coming from the west. 
It is fully as large as the river Colbert 
(Mississippi), into which it empties. The 
Indians assure us that this river is 
formed by many others, and that they 
ascend it for ten or twelves days to a moun- 
tain where it rires; that beyond this 
mountain is the sea, where they see great 
ships; that on the river are a great number 
of large villages of many different nations, 
that there are arable and prairie lands, 
an abundance of cattle (buffalo no 
doubt), and beaver. Although this river 
18 very large, the Colbert (Mississippi) 
does not seem to be augmented by it." 
Having located the Kansas Indians on 
the Pekitanoui or Missouri river, more 
than two hundred years ago, let us now 



find, if we can, where they were located 
on that stream. 

Fifty-four years after Marquette first 
heard of them, Bourgmont, military 
commander of the French province of 
Louisiana, visited them, but his account 
of their location is vague and unsatisfac- 
tory; but Renoudiere, one of Bourg- 
ment's companions, gives this description 
of the location of the village, which some 
have supposed was at Atchison and oth- 
I ers at the month of Independence creek 
[below Doniphan; but it tallies equally as 
well with the mouth of Wolf river. 

"Thirty leagues above Quans (Kansas) 
river, a small river flowing from the 
north is found. Here is the great village 
of the Quans (Kansas) Indians, consist- 
|ing of 150 lodges ad joining the Missouri. 
I There are tine prairies to the south and 
many mountains to the west." 

Professor Rerasburg of Potter, Kan., 
who is well posted in oJd Indian history,' 
has a lengthy and interesting article in a 
late issue of the Kansas City Journal, in 
which he brings much proof to show 
[that Doniphan is the site of the old 
Kansas Indian village, Bourgmont visited 
in 1724, and there can be no doubt, from 
the proof he brings, that they actually 
<\id live there at one time, and it may 
iiave been when Bourgmont visited them. 
But it must be remembered that thirty 
leagues, which would be ninety miles 
from the mouth of the Kansas river, 
would reach much farther than the mouth 
of Independence creek, and as distances 
in those days were guessed at and not 
measured, Renoudiere's thirty leagues 
j might have been much more than that 



144 



GKAV'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



and consequently reached the mouth of 
Wolf river. 

Without taking issue with Professor 
Remsburg, let us now examine the sur- 
roundings at the mouth of Wolf river 
and see how they correspond to Renoud- 
iere's description of the country around 
the old Quans village. 

Anyone who has been on what is 
known as Lookout mountain, a high 
point between the mouth of Wolf river 
and the Missouri, which commands the 
finest view in all directions of any point 
in the state of Kansas, will readily recog- 
nize that Renoudiere's description applies 
to this locality. To the south in the di- 
rection of Highland and Severance, is 
what was once a tine prairie country but 
now covered with productive farms, 
while to the north the chain of ragged 
bluffs, which bounds the Missouri river 
on the west, rises abruptly. When I 
first came to Doniphan county, fifty 
years ago, W olf river emptied into the 
Missouri river from the north more than 
a mile below where it docs now, running 
parallel with tlie Missouri from near the 
old Rock Ford, where S. F. French now 
lives. From this point Wolf river valley 
cannot be seen. What is called the Devil's 
Backbone, a lateral spur which puts out 
from Lookout mountain, shuts it out 
from view at the Great Bend near Wil- 
low Springs school house, and Indian 
creek, whidi has its source near the old 
Presbyterian mission and Great Nemaha 
agency, could be easily mistaken for Wolf 
river coming in from the north. 

Having disposed of this feature of the 
subject, let us examine more tangible 



evidence, that this was the abiding place 
of these old settlers at a remote period of 
time, when they were a numerous and 
war-like tribe, and their dominion prob- 
ably extended from the Great Nemaha 
river along the boundary between Kan- 
sas and Nebraska south to the Kansas 
river and westward to the Republican 
and Smoky Hill rivers. 

Stone axes, spear heads, flint arrow 
points and broken fragments of primi- 
tive pottery are scattered over a scope of 
country, extending south from the mouth 
of Wolf river to Eagle Springs and west- 
ward along the Wolf river valley north 
of Highland Station on the Burlington 
and Missouri River railroad and south- 
east to the old town site of Lafayette on 
the Missouri river, now occupied as a 
fruit farm by Levi Kunkle. At Eagle 
Springs these implements are found cov- 
ered up in some instances six or eight 
feet under ground. In these places heaps 
of ashes, burnt stones, bones of wild ani- 
mals and shells of mussels are always 
found. 

In removing a large mound for the 
foundation of the hotel at Eagle Springs, 
these evidences of the country having 
been inhabited in prehistoric times were 
unearthed eight feet under ground. 

It is a well known fact that the Kan- 
sas Indians, like the Sioux, divided up 
into bands and had their villages in dif- 
ferent localities, and the evidences I have 
noted show that, at least, a very large 
band of them was located here, perhaps 
long before Bourgmont's visit in 1724, 
nearly two hundred years after Columbus 
discovered the New World, peopled with 



GKAV'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



145 



a race whose appearance on this continent 
is yet shrouded in mystery. 

The following extracts are taken from 
Lewis and Clark's journals in 18J4, 
which Miss Zou Adams, assistant secre- 
tary of the Kansas State Historical socie- 
ty at Topeka, has kindly furnished me: 

"This river, [the Kansas,] receives its 
name Irom a nation which dwells at this 
time on its banks and has two villages, 
one about thirty leagues and the other 
forty leagues up. Those Indians are not 
very numerous at this time, having been 
reduced by war with their neighbors. 
They formerly lived on the south banks 
of the Missouri tAventy-four leagues 
above this river in an open and beautiful 
plain, and were very numerous at the 
time the French first settled on the Hi- 
iiois. I am told they are a tierce and war- 
like people, but being unsupplied with 
ii re-arms became easily conquered by the 
Aiauway and Saukees [Iowa and Sacs] 
Avho are better furnished with those 
materials of war."— Pages 60, 61. 

"We camped after dark on the S S 
[I don't understand what this means], 
above an island [supposed to be Kicka- 
poo island above Fort Leavenworth], op- 
posite the first old village of the Kanza>^, 
which was situated in a valley between 
two points of high land and immediatelv 
on the river bank back of the villag 
and on a rising ground at about one mile.'" 
Page 64. 

"We came to and camped in the lower 
edge of a plain where the second old 
Kanzas village formerly stood, above the 
mouth of a creek thirty yards wide. This 
creek we called creek Independence. As 
we approached this place the prairie had 



a most beautiful appearance. Hills and 
valleys, interspersed with copses of tim- 
ber, gave a pleasing diversity to the 
scenery, the right fork of creek Inde- 
pendence meandering through the middle 
of the plain. A point of high land near 
the river gives an elevated situation. At 
this place the Kanzas Indians formerly 
lived, 'i'his town appears to have cov- 
ered a large s[>ace. The natidn must ]iav<^ 
been numerous at the time they lived 
here. The cause of their moving to the 
Kanzas river I have never heard, nor, 
can I learn. War with their neighbors 
must have reduced this nation and com- 
pelled them to retire to a situation in the 
plains better calculated for their defense 
and one where they may make use of 
their horses with good effect in pursuing 
their enemy.'' 

"The origin of this old village is un- 
certain. M. de Bourgmont, a French 
officer, in command of a fort near the 
I'own of the Missouris, in about tlie year 
1724, and in July of the same year he 
visited this village. At that time the na- 
tion was numerous and well disposed to- 
ward the French."— Pages 66, 67. 

It will be noticed from the aVtove ex- 
tracts, tliat Lewis and Clark place the 
old Kansas village Bouigmont visited in 
1724, where the town of Doniphan n<)'>v 
is, but as they were not there till eighty 
\ ears later, and the Kansas Indians had 
all g<»He south along tlie Kansas riv^r, 
they might have been mistaken, and tliat 
they might seems plausible from tht' 
fact that there is a difference of six 
leagues in the distance the villages they 
describe were located from the mouth of 
the Kansas river, Lewis and Clark put- 



146 



UKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



ting their village twenty-four leagues 
from that point and Renoudiere, Bourg- 
mont's companion, putting his thirty 
leagues, which, as I have said before, 
might have been more than that and 
reached the mouth of Wolf river. This, 
however, is immaterial as both villages, 
beyond a doubt, were located in Doui- 
phau county^. 

I think it highly probable that all 
three of the villages, the one on \\ olf 
river, the one at Doniphan, and the one 
Hear Kickapoo Island above Fort Leaven- 
worth, were occupied by different bands 
of this tribe at the same time. 

The following extract from an address 
by George P. Morehouse of Council 
Grove, before the twenty-eighth annual 
meeting of the State Historical society 
December 1, 190o, shows that they fol- 
lowed this custom after they left the Mis- 
souri river and went south: 

"The Kaw or Kansas Indians lived for 
a long time in the Kaw valley east of the 
[present city of Manhattan. In 18 47, 
they removed to a reservation in the 
Neosho valley adjoining Council Grove. 
Their three villages were down the river 
and the Indian agency, the buildings of 
which still stands, was near the mouth of 
Big John creek, about four miles from 
Council Grove. 

"They had three villages, governed in 
a manner by three chiefs. Al-le-ga-vva-ho, 
for many years tlieir wisest leader, a 
man ovei ^ix feet tall and noted as an 
eloquent Indian orator, presided at the 
village located on Cahola creek. Kah- 
he-ga-wa-ti-an-gah, the "iopl chief," gov- 
ei-ned the village near the present site of 



the town of Dun lap. Wah-ti-an-gah held 
forth as chief of the village near the offi- 
cial agency." 

The addre88, from which the foi'egoing 
is taken, is an interesting sketch of the 
Kansas Indians, after they left the Mis- 
souri river and went south, that will pay 
anyone interested in old Indian history 
to look up. It can be found in Volume 
VIII, Page 206, of Kansas Historical col- 
lections for 1903-4. 

The following extract from Major 
Stephen H. Long's account of an expedi- 
tion to explore the Rocky Moutains 1819, 
shows that a band of the Kansas Indians 
were then living in this vicinity: 

"The country southwest of the Mis- 
souri, between the Kansas and Platte 
rivers, is drained principally by the Wolf 
and the Great Nemaha rivers. These 
rivers, like the Nodaway and Nishnabot- 
na rivers, that empty into the Missouri 
nearly opposite them from the northeast, 
rise in the prairies at an elevation of 
probably forty or lifty feet above the 
level of the Missouri. As they descend, 
their valleys gradually become wider, 
embosom a few trees, and at length near 
their entrance into the Missouri valley, 
are forests of considerable extent. The 
surface of these prairies presents a suc- 
cession of small rounded hills becoming 
larger and more abrupt as you approach 
the beds of the rivers. The soil is deep, 
reposing usually on beds of horizontal 
argillaceous sandstone, and secondary 
limestone. The soil superimposed upon 
this strata of limestone is a calareous 
loam. Near the rivers it is intermixed 
with sand. This is also the case with 



GUAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



147 



the soil of the high prairies about tlie 
Konzas village." 

It will be remembered that Lewis and 
Clark mentions only two villages of this 
tribe on the Kansas river, which shows 
that the bands that were here when Major 
Long visited them in 1819, had not yet 
gone south, but they were at the time 
Mr. Morehouse speaks of, and the tribe 
was living in three separate villages as 
they had previously done when they 
wei'e on the Missouri river. 

I know Lewis and Clark speaks of only 
two Kansas villages on the Missouri 
river, the one above Fort Leavenworth 
and the one at Independence creek. Why 
they did not mention this village on 
Wolf river is explained by the fact that 
it was then situated in the Wolf river 
valley south of the ''Devil's Backbone," 
which, as I have explained, shuts out 
a view of this valley from the Missouri 
river at the Oreat Bend near Willow 
Springs school house and, consequently, 
they did not see it, as they were not ex- 
ploring the country back from the river. 
The other two villages were on the riv- 
er and they saw them and made a note 

of It. 

The following items are takeii from 
letters 1 received some time ago from 
Professor Remsburg, to whom I am in- 
debted for valuable information in con- 
nection with the present and past history 
uf the Kansas Indians: 

"Dear Sir: I notice by the Atchison 
Globe of recent date, that you are pre- 
paring a history of the Indians of Doni- 
phan county, which is a very commend- 



able move, as this is a subject that has 
been too much neglected. 

Perhaps you may be interested in 
knowing that I have lately identified the 
site of the Kaw or Kansas Indian vil- 
lage visited by Bourgmont in 1724, and 
that it is to the credit of Doniphan coun- 
ty that the ancient capital of tliis indige- 
neous tribe of Kansas was located within 
her (Doniphan county's) borders, not- 
withstanding, that some historians. Pro- 
fessor Dunbar for instance, have placed 
it at Atchison. I have a large amount 
ot evidence, both historical and archaeo- 
logical, to shv)w that the old village was 
situated at the present town site of Doni- 
phan, while I can tind nothing to estab- 
lish the location at Atchison. I have 
prepared a paper, giving the results of 
my investigations at Doniphan, which 
will be published in the Kansas C/ity 
Journal, a copy of which I will send you. 

Assuring you of my interest in your 
efforts to perpetuate the early Indian his- 
tory of Doniphan county, and wishing 
you s.iccess, I am yours sincerely, 

Gk<». .1. IIemsiuiro. 



Pott.^r. Kan.. July 8, 1905. 
'•Dear, .Sir: Replying to yours of the 
'Sd inst. , will say, that as near as I can 
learn at present, there are only 247 of 
the Kaws or Kansas Indians left. Their 
reservation lies along the Arkansas river 
valley, just south of the Kansas state 
line and comprises 100,037 acres of the 
finest land in the territory. Gen. W. E. 
Hardy is their chief. He is an uncle of 
Congressman Charles Curtis, and is one 
of the best known Indians in the United 



148 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



States. He has been conspicuous in In- 
dian councils in Washington during the 
last sixty years. He has a splendid Civil 
war record and was an intimate friend of 
Gen. U. S. Grant. He has lived on three 
separate Kaw reservations; on the site of 
St. Louis, where he was born; on the 
former Kaw reserve in Kansas, and on 
the present reserve, set aside for his tribe 
in Oklahoma. Secretary Hitchcock of 
the Interior department, some time ago 
made him secretary of the Kaw tribal 
council for life, an honor never bestowed 

on any other Indian As near 

as I have been able to trace the Kansas 
Indians when they tirst came up the Mis- 
souri in prehistoric times, they proceed- 
ed as far as the northeast corner of the 
present state of Kansas, where they met 
the Cbeyennes, who drove them south- 
ward. You are probably correct in as- 
serting that they were located on Wolf 
river at one time, but that river does not 
tally with their location i;i Bourgmont's 
time, as described in the narratives of 
the early explorers, while topographical 
features at Doniphan are identical with 
the early descriptions of the locality, 
where the old Kansas town was located. 
I shall be glad to hear from you occa- 
sionally, and to know of any developments 
that you inight make along this line of 
research. It is a subject in which I am 
deeply absorbed, and one which I am 
anxious to see made tangible. 
Yours cordially, 

Gko. J. Remsburg." 

The foregoing brief history of the 
Kansas Indians traces them from the 
Krst account we have of them in 1670 



down to the present time, a period of 
235 years. From the best information 
obtainable, they were living in the terri- 
tory that now constitutes Doniphan 
county, when Marquette first heard (»f 
them in 1670, as one of the "prodigious 
nations" that lived along the Pekitanoui, 
or Missouri river at that time, and theix) 
is abundant archteological evidence that 
they or some other pi'imitive race of 
people had inhabited this region from a 
remote period in prehistoric times. 



The Kaws on the Missouri in 1724. 

[by GEORGE J. REM8BURG.] 

Centuries ago mention was made by 
the French explorers of the large or main 
village of the "Quans", on the southwest 
bank of the Missouri river, about thirty 
leagues above the mouth of the "Quans" 
river. The Quans were the Kanza or 
Konza Indians, from whom our state de- 
rived its name. They were visited by De 
Bourgmont, in 1723, and again in 1724, 
while on his famous expedition to the 
Padoucas. The exact location of this 
noted old village of Bourgmont's time 
has, herefore, never been detinitely de- 
termined, although the ruins of the old 
town on the Missouri were observed and 
mentioned by explorers and travelers for 
many years subsequent to the early 
French explorations. 

After carefully studying all available 
data bearing on the subject, including 
the chronicles of most of the early ex- 
plorers who mention the old village, and 
thoroughly examing the whole region 
along the Missouri river north of the 
Kansas, I have concluded that the his- 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



149 



toric old town of Doniphan, five miles 
north of the city of Atchison, was the 
prehistoric capital of the Kaws. The 
historical, topographical and archieolog- 
ical evidence adequately sustains such an 
opinion. Bel ore going into details I will 
succinctly give a few of the more impor- 
tant reasons for my belief that the old 
Kansas village was so located: 

First— Doniphan corresponds approxi- 
mately with the distances that the early 
explorers place the old village above the 
Kansas and Little Platte rivers, and oth- 
er definite points on the Missouri. 
Second— Lewis and Clark, and other ex- 
plorers, who saw the remains of the old 
town, explicitly state that it was a mile, 
or a little above. Independence creek. 
Third— Doniphan is the most ideal situa- 
tion for an Indian village in that region, 
and the only desirable site for such a vil- 
lage within a mile of Independence creek 
to the north. Fourth— The tine prairies, 
which may be seen from pomts several 
miles below; the bend in the river, and 
other natural features at or near the old 
village site as recorded by the early ex- 
plorers are identifiable with the present 
townsite of Doniphan and vicinity. 
Fifth— The large amount of archa?ologic- 
a! material, the prehistoric relics, the 
graves and other such remains found at 
Doniphan and vicinity indicate unmistak- 
ably that it was an important seat of ab- 
original occupancy. Sixth — Old settlers 
of undoubted reliability have seen on the 
Doniphan townsite numerous hut rings 
or lodge circles of an ancient Indian vil- 
lage, and from their descriptions of the 
same they were exactly similar to those 



of the later day villages of the Kansas 
Indians at Manhattan, Valencia, Council 
Grove and other places, denoting the 
hemispheric earthen hut, that these Indi- 
ans are known to have always construct- 
ed as their dwelling places. 

Bourgmont is very indefinite as to the 
location of the Kaws, but Renoudiere, in 
his memorandum of the exposition, says 
that thirty leagues above "Quane'' river, 
"a small river flowing from the north is 
found; here is the great village of the 
Quans, consisting of 150 lodges adjoin- 
ing the Missouri. There are fine prairies 
to the soutli and many mountains to the 
west.' It is evident that this chronicler 
of the Bourgmont expedition mistook 
Rock creek for the main continuation of 
Independence creek. The general course 
of the Independence is from a westerly 
direction, but about a mile and a half 
al)ove its mouth it takes a sharp turn to 
the south, flowing straight in this direc- 
tion for nearly a mile when it makes 
another acute turn to the east for about 
one-half of a mile to its mouth.. That 
part of the channel extending north and 
south is almost on a straight line with 
that of Rock creek, the merging of the 
Independence basin with that of Rock 
creek making a clearly defined valley 
much more prominent than the main val- 
ley of Independence from Rock creek 
westward. Coming as it does from the 
prairie the Independence valley at this 
point is not so noticeable as that of Rock 
creek which is bordered by high hills, or 
"many mountains", as Renoudiere saw fit 
to term the prominent elevations lying 
west of the Kansas village. Any person 



190 



GKAYVS DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



not acquainted with the country, looking 
north from near the mouth of Independ- 
ence, would readily take the valley of 
Rock creek for the main trend or contin- 
uation of Independence valley. The "line 
prairies" mentioned by Renoudiere are 
readily noticeable off to the south and 
southwest of Doniphan. In fact, the 
country south and west of Doniphan tal- 
lies almost exactly with the descriptions 
given in the journals of the expedition; 
for instance, Bourgmont mentions that a 
half league southwest of the Kansas vil- 
lage a small river was passed. Indepeml- 
ence creek is just about that distance 
southwest of Doniphan. In another ac- 
count we tind that shortly after leaving 
the village they "marched about a league 
and a half along a river coming from the 
southwest." Deer creek comes into tlie 
Independence near its mouth, from a 
southwesterly direction. 

On July 4, 1804, Lewis and Clark dis- 
covered a stream about fifty yards wide, 
which they named Independence, in li(^nt)r 
of the day. To quote their jonriuil, they 
"came along the bank of an extensive 
and beautiful prairie, interspersed with 
copses of timber and watered by Inde- 
pendence creek. On this bank formerly 
stood the second village of the Kaws. 
From the remains it must have been once 
a large town." "On this bank stood the 
village" signifies on the bank of the prai- 
rie, and not on the bank of Independence 
creek, for in another place in their jour- 
nal (p. .1258 Coue's Lewis and Clark) they 
designate "a mile above Independence 
creek" as the situation of the old village. 
If the village was anywhere within a mile 



of the Independence to the north, it must 
have been where Doniphan now stands, for 
that is the only desirable location for an 
Indian village, within that distance from 
the creek. Shortly after leaving the old 
village site Lewis and Clark passed a 
small stream which they called Y^ellow 
Ochre creek, from a bank of that mineral 
a little above it. About three miles 
above Doniphan, at Geary, there empties 
into the Missouri a small stream called 
Brush creek, which was doubtless the 
"Y^ellow Ochre" of Lewis and Clark's 
day, for the "bank" of that mineral from 
which they so named the stream is visi- 
ble "a little above" the creek as they 
stated. C. B. Roundy of Geary, once 
sent some of this mineral substance to be 
examined by experts, and they pronounced 
it "ochre of poor quality." 

Sergeant Floyd, of the Lewis and Clark 
expedition, in his individual diary, speaks 
of Independence creek coming out of an 
"extensive prairie, open and high, which 
may be seen six or seven miles below." 
Brackenridge, in 1811, also mentions the 
tine view of the prairies and the old vil- 
lage site, which could be obtained from 
below. The country about Doniphan 
may be seen very plainly from the Atchi- 
son bridge, and even as far down as the 
bend of the river, several miles below 
Atchison. John Bradbury, in his 
"Travels in the Interior of America," 
1809-10-11, mentions going ashore at 
the old Kansas village and noting the 
great fertility of the soil and the almnd- 
ance of hops, but is indefinite as to its 
location. However, taking into consid- 
eration the natural features of the coun- 



GKAY\s DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



151 



try as depicted in that portion of his 
journal leading up to the old village site, 
they correspond pretty closely to existing 
topographical conditions, and point con- 
sentaneously with the narratives of Lewis 
and Clark and others, to Doniphan, as the 
seat of Kaw occupancy in Bourgmont's 
time. H. M. Brackenridge, in the journal 
of his voyage up the Missouri in 1811, 
nientions the old village as follows: 
"High prairies southwest side— continued 
under sail through another long stretch 
(of prairie) and had a tine view of the old 
Kansas village at the upper end of it. It 
is high prairie, smooth waving hills, per- 
fectly green, with a few clumps of trees 
in the hollows. It was formerly a village 
of the old Kansas nation. . . But for the 
scarcity of wood this would be a delight- 
ful situation for a town. At this place 
the bend of the river rendered the wind 
unfavorable." He also mentions the old 
Indian pathways along the sides of the 
hills and down to the river. Luther Dick- 
erson and other eai'ly settlers recall that 
these old Indian paths or trails were plain- 
ly visible, leading out in almost every di- 
rection from Doniphan in the early days, 
and some of them, where not too much 
disturbed by cultivation, may yet be 
observed. Major Stephen H. Long, 
while on his celebrated expedition to 
the Rocky mountains in 1819-20, says 
that after leaving Isle au Vache, "we 
proceeded in the course of the day about 
twenty-three miles and encamped at 
night near the entrance of a small stream 
called Independence creek. A little 
above, (Independence creek) and on the 
south side of the river, is the site of an 



old Konza town, called formerly the 'vil- 
lage of the twenty -four.' " Major Long 
in his journal and on his map, places the 
old village, "a little above Independence 
creek," or at about the present townsite 
of Doniphan. Major Long is the only one 
of the early explorers who alludes to the 
old Indian town as the "village of the 
twenty-four." I have somewhere seen it al- 
hided to as the "village of the Big Four." 
The reason for those appellations seem 
to be obscure, or at least, I can find no ex- 
planation of them. Isle au Vache, or Cow 
island, is in the Missouri river, near the 
southtrn line of Atchison county. Coun- 
cils were held with the Kaw Indians on 
this island in 1819, and later, when the 
triie lived on the Kansas river. 

ARCH^OLO(;iCAL EVIDKXCE. 

Hon. Lutlier Dickerson, "who is gener- 
ally known as the "oldest inhal-itant" of 
this region, says there can be no doubt 
about the site of Doniphan having been 
occupied by an Indian village in prehis- 
toric times. Mr. Dickerson came here in 
June, 1854, and often visited the present 
site of Doniphan before "the pioneer set- 
tlers selected it as a townsite. He says 
that the old Indian lodge circles, wnth tire 
pits in the center, were plainly visible in 
manjr })laces in Doniphan in the early 
days. These were especially noticeable 
where the public school building now 
stands. The earth in many places was 
intermingled with charcoal, ashes and 
other debris of the Indian village. Mr. 
Dickerson says that as near as he can re- 
member the rings or circles where the 
Indian wigwams stood and which were 
quite numerous, were about twenty feet 



152 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



in diameter, and in the center of each 
was a cavity tilled with ashes and char- 
coal. Professor Say, who visited the 
Kansas Indians in their village near the 
present town of Manhattan in 1819, says 
that the ground area of each lodge was 
circular, and that the tireplace was a 
simple, shallow cavity in the center of 
the apartment. On the Kansas river, 
wherever the Kaws had their later day 
villages, these circles in the earth are still 
to be seen. 

Judge W. H. H. Curtis of Tr..y, wlio 
was one of the early settlers of Doniphan, 
in response to inquiries, writes that from 
his own observations, as well as from the 
statements of the late James F. and John 
W. Forman, the Doniphan pioneers, he 
i>. convinced that Doniphan was the site 
oi an important Indian village. •'! have 
heard James F. Forman and his brother, 
John W. Foi'man, talk about the ancient 
village," says Mr. Curtis, and further 
adds that they were firm in the belief that 
an ancient Indian village existed there. 
The Fitrman brothers came to that vicini- 
ty as Indian traders long before Kansas 
was open for settlement. They surveyed 
and platted the townsite of Doniphan. 
Mr. C'Urtis' own observations lead him to 
believe that the ancient villnge "circled 
around the spot where ])oni[>han now 
stands; or more corrf<tly speaking, the 
village must have been iu the form of a 
crescent, extending from cast to west, at 
the north outskirts of what is now the 
townsite ]>roper. . . . When a boy I saw 
many Indian relics near Doniphan," con- 
tinues Mr. Curtis, "and I know^ of many 
others who have found axes, arrow and 



spear heads, human bones, and what ap- 
pear to have been old burying grounds 
both east and west of Doniphan." 

Isaac F. Weyer, the "village black- 
smith" of Doniphan, who has lived 
there forty -three years, also recalls hav- 
ing heard the Forman brothers speak 
about the remains of an ancient vil- 
lage at Doniphan and says he has al- 
ways heard a tradition that there was 
once a large Indian town at or near 
that place. W. H. Nesbit, one of the 
founders of Doniphan, says that at an 
early day large masses of charcoal, pot- 
tery and other burnt substances were 
exposed by the caving or washing away 
of the banks of the small creek which 
flows through Doniphan. He also says 
that the rock shelters or small caverns 
in the sides of the high bluffs about 
Doniphan contained the bones of In- 
dians, with pottery vessels, arrowheads, 
etc. The late T.J. Ingels of Atchison, 
who was as well acquainted around 
Doniphan as any other man, and who 
was a close observer along natural histo- 
ry and archaeological lines, wrote me 
May 27, 19U4: "I should think from the 
number of graves and stone relics found 
in and about Doniphan that it was vast- 
ly populated at some time in the past. 
Not only on the Geoi'ge Brenner land, 
but throughout the old townsite the loose 
stones scattered about over the surface 
and even under the surface, show marks 
of tire." Mr. Ingels has done much 
prosj)ecting for water and drilled many 
wells in that vicinity and had excellent 
opportunity for observation. The writer 
once found a lot of burned stones, to- 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



153 



gether with burned earth and pottery 
fragments, exposed by the caving of the 
creek bank just south of the public 
school building in Doniphan. On an- 
other occasion I found a hammer stone 
projecting from the bank nearly two feet 
below the surface. While strolling along 
the main street of Doniphan on October 
19, 1903, 1 picked up three flint arrow 
points, and observed numerous chips or 
spalls of flint that had washed from a 
small gully at one side of the thorough- 
fare. The late Richard Dempsey, an old 
resident, and for many years road super- 
visor in that vicinity, informed the 
writer that in making grades on the 
roads he had occasionally turned up 
baked clay, charcoal, potshards and 
fragments of stone implements. When 
the roadbed of the old A. & N. railroad 
was made through Doniphan in 1869, the 
workmen in grading unearthed similar 
material, and at the present time there 
is frequently picked up, from the dirt 
which was thrown out along this grade, 
arrow points, hatchets, etc. 

The late Frank Kitzmiller of Highland, 
under date of April 20, 1894, wrote me: 
"I have been informed by several parties 
that many Indian relics have been found 
at Doniphan, and from what I can learn 
it must have been once occupied by an 
Indian village. I understand that the 
rubbish of the old tepees is occasionally 
met with in digging trenches and making 
other excavations. One man there has 
promised to bring me a lot of stone relics 
which he had plowed up in the town of 
Doniphan." Mr. Kitzmiller had an inter- 
esting collection of Indian relics gathered 
in Doniphan county. Mrs. Jane Spencer 



says that in making excavations on her 
farm just north of town pottery has been 
unearthed. Mrs. Spencer came to Doni- 
phan with her late husband iii 1855. At 
that time tlure was evidence of an Indian 
graveyard on the land which they pre- 
empted and on wliich she still lives. 
Many wagonloads of loose limestones 
were haukd from a field on their farn!. 
She had observe<l many Indian relics an<! 
has several in her possession now. 
Thomas Langan reports numerous evi- 
dences of Indian occupancy on his farni 
near l)oni])han. James A. Dunning of 
St. Joseph, Mo., foiruerly of Doniplian, 
writes that Indian relics were so very com- 
mon there in the early days that but lit- 
tle attention was pai<i to them. "I have 
gathered my hat full of arrowheads on 
the creek bank; also stone axes and war 
clubs by the dozens. Years after, in 
plowing over my father's farm, we have 
picked up beads and pottery, the lattt r 
being similar to those I have seen fron) 
clitt" dwellings." Joseph Geisendorf says 
he has found many stone relics on the 
same farm. Charles Kuch, the postmas- 
ter at Doniphan, says that the boys have 
gathered innumerable arrow points on the 
land occupied by the Hrenner vineyard, 
and N. G. Brenner corroborates this 
statement and says he has found hundreds 
of them himself on the same ground . 
« '^ = 
Indian burial mounds and graves are 
numerous on the hills sourrounding Doni- 
phan. External evidences of many t)f 
these sepulchers have been obliterated, 
but here and there may still be seen 
limestone slabs set in the ground in reg- 
ular order, or piled up irregularly, to 



154 



GKAYVS DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



mark the last resting place of some abor- 
iginal denizen of Doniphan. In some 
instances these graves may belong to the 
Sacs and Foxes, or other modern Indians, 
but it is believed that the majority of 
them belonged to the ancient Kaws. Rev. 
Isaac McCoy, a missionary among the 
Western Indians at an early day, speak- 
ing of the Kaw methods of burial, says: 
"They frequently deposited the dead on 
or near the surface and raised over the 
corpse a lieap of stones." Hon. George 
P. Morehouse, of Council Grove, who 
has seen and studied the Kaws, when 
tliey livtd at that place, says that he has 
often noticed their graves, usually on top 
of some near bluff or high ground, and 
that they were often covered with slabs 
of limestt)ne. Mrs. Mary J. Forniaii, 
widow of the Doniphan pioneer, Jolni \V. 
Formaii, writes from Canton, Mo.: "On 
the hill west of the John Forman resi- 
dence (since owned by George Brenner) 
tiiere were indications of an Indian grave- 
yard, piles of rock seeming to have been 
used as monuments or to mark some place 
of note." Mrs. Jane Spencer mentions 
similar graves on her farm at an early day. 
L. Clem, who has lived in that vicinity 
about thirty years and Mho. has hunted 
throughout that region, observed many 
such piles of stone when he first 
located there. Luther Dickerson says 
there are several small mounds on land 
belonging to J. P. Brown of Atchison, 
on the river bluffs south of Independence 
creek. H. J. Adams of Leroy, Kan., 
a sor. of the late Secretary Adams, of the 
Kansas Historical Society, who formerly 
lived near Doniphan, while digging a 
cellar on the crest of a river bluff south 



of Independence creek, in 1868, exhumed 
the skeleton of an Indian. It was about 
two feet below the surface and covered 
with stones. James Eylar reports several 
gi-aves just north of Doniphan, and in 
the same neighborhood "firepits on top 
of the river bluff, in which are charred 
bones resembling those of human beings." 
He also mentions a grave on Independ- 
ence creek west of Doniphan in which 
was found a human skeleton, together 
with a small headless image and some 
beads. There were also traces of tire in 
this grave. Further west, on the Apid 
farm, are other graves, near which have 
been found many stone axes. 

Several years ago the writer, accompa- 
nied by T. J. Ingels of Atchison, and C. 
A. B)i-uner of Oak Mills, opened a stone 
mound on the high hill west of Doniphan, 
but it had either been despoiled of its 
contents by relic hunters or else the de- 
scendants of the dead warrior had removed 
his remains to another place, for not even 
a human bone remained in it. Early set- 
tlers recall having seen the Indians come 
to this place at an early day, and, after 
weird ceremonies, exhume the remains of 
dead Indians and carry them away. Where 
they came from and whither they went 
was never learned. 

On another hill on the farm of John 
Myers, near the junction of Independence 
and Rock creeks, the writer, assisted by 
J. B. Loftin, an intelligent citizen of 
that vicinity, explored an Indian mound, 
"^rhis mound was originally covered with 
stones, but most of them had been re- 
moved by Mr. Myers in cultivating the 
land. The contents of the mound con- 
sisted of human remains, badly charred 



(QUAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



155 



h.y tire, pieces of burned wood and char- 
coal, iiunieroxxs glass, porcelain and bone 
beads, two silver (?) finger rings, a sil- 
ver breastplate, fragments of silver 
ear bobs, fragments of a copper bracelet, 
fragments of an iron kettle, fragments of 
an old- fashioned decorated porcelain 
plate, fragments of bone instruments, a 
piece of steel evidently used for a tire 
striker, many fliut spalls and some parti- 
cles of Vermillion, all in a confused mass. 
Everything indicated that this was the 
remains of a "scaffold" or *'tree burial," 
Avhich, after tumbling down, had been 
swept by prairie tires and later gathered 
up and deposited, without regularity, in 
a stone sepulchre. 

AN IDEAL TOWNSITK. 

The writer has examined many Indian 
village sites in Kansas, but there has never 
come under his observation a more ideal 
location for a permanent seat of aborigin- 
al habitation than at the old townsite of 
Doniphan. Situated about midway of 
the great western bend of the Missouri, or 
the grande detour of the Missouri, as the 
French voyageurs called it; encircled by 
a chain of high hills, with a gap on the 
east which afforded the villagers a splen- 
did view of and easy access to the river, 
ami tiirough which they could readily 
}»erceive^t]ie approach of an enemy on the 
water; while the overtowering hills at 
almost every point of the compass pro- 
vided natural watch towers where they 
could guard against the encroachment of 
a foe from the broad prairie that stretch- 
es oft in every direction; a small stream 
flowing through this natiu'al basin, fed 
by several tine springs, afforded a con- 



stant supply of fresh water to the occu- 
pants of the village, while just over the 
divide to the west and southwest three 
lavger streams, one of them navigable 
for canoes, unite before mingling their 
limpid M'aters with the murky Missouri. 
Surrounded by every natural advantage 
and resource, Doniphan is an ideal dwell- 
ing place for either savage or civilized 
man. The old Kansas Herd Book thus 
describes it: "Doniphan staiids where 
the corkscrew Missouri makes a sharp 
turn to the west and is hurled Vmck upon 
itself by a high wooded bluff'. To north 
and south rise heavily timbered liluffs, 
dipping to form the level bottom upon 
which the town lies nestled from the pre- 
vailing storm currents of winter." Hon. 
Sol Miller's famous liistorical edition of 
the Kansas ( hief says that Doniphan is 
one of the iinest natural townsites on 
the Missouri river. Brackenridge, one of 
the old explorers, speaks of it as "a de- 
lisj^htful situation for a town." 



E.irlv Reniiiiiseenees. 



[ HY JAMES N. GIBBINS. J 

About Christmas, '53, I learned that a 
man at Wathena, then Bellemont, wanted 
a hand to work and as father could easily 
spare me, having a large family of sons, 
he consented to my going over to see 
what I could do. On January 10, 1854, 
I crossed the Missouri river at Bellemont 
on the ice, walking from St. Joseph, and 
engaged to Ben Harding to herd cattle 
and split rails. A young man by the 
name of Chase was working for Mr, 
Harding at the time. He had come from 
Indiana just previous to this time. We 



156 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



split and prepared several hundred rails, 
Mr. Harding assisting us at this work. 
These rails were used by Mr. Harding on 
his place. Many people younger than I 
well remember Mr. Harding's rail fence 
along the Troy and W athena road, be- 
tween his house and the Bryan farm. 
This fence stood until tive years ago, 
when Mr. Harding had it torn down and 
replaced with a wire fence, but between 
tach two new posts a rail was driven for 
a post, and this fence is now standing in 
this February, 1904, just lifty years since 
we split them. It was some time in the 
'8US that Mr. Harding told me that these 
were the same rails that Chase and 1 
helped him split. Ratlier a long time to 
use a rail, isn't it? But dear modern 
reader, don't think the rail fence was 
torn down in 1899, because the rails were 
rotten. Oh, no; those old oak rails 
were good for another hfty years; it was 
because rail fences in general have been 
supplanted by the inventions of the age. 

We worked there until March, when 
Chase accompanied me home to father's 
where we engaged in breaking hemp, a 
well known occupation at that time, now 
unknown to younger people. We. crossed 
the river in a skill' with the mountain ice 
running, C base said " "worse than when 
\Vashington crossed the Delaware." 

In January, 1854, Douglas' bill to or- 
ganize Kansas and Nebraska as territories 
came before congress. Mr. Harding ad- 
vised us to come back when the bill 
passed and take claims in the bottom, 
where the Chautauqua grounds are now 
situated, but we only partly followed his 
advice as will be shown. Father was a 
subscriber to the St. Joseph Weekly Ga- 



zette; we didn't get the daily by R. F. 
D. in those days, and in April it teemed 
with editorial advice to young men to go 
over and take claims, so sure was its edi- 
tor that the bill would pass. Father ad- 
vised us to secure a piece of land, so we 
rode horse-back, crossed the river at St. 
Joseph on a flat boat and took the Cali- 
fornia trail for the Mission at Highland, 
and stopped over night with Thomas 
Vanderslice. This was May 10, 1854. 
On the next day we crossed Wolf river a 
little above Leona, and put up notices of 
our intentions. This was on Squaw creek 
just over the line in Brown county. From 
the first biennial report of the state board 
of agriculture, page 121, I quote the fol- 
lowing: "First settlement, Robinson 
township. May 11, 1854. Thurston 
Chase and James N. Gibbins took claims 
on Wolf river. From the best informa- 
tion obtainable these two persons were 
the first settlers within the present limits 
of Brown county." This was nineteen 
days before Douglas' bill passed and I 
was just 20 years old. 

We took a southeast direction after we 
put up our notices and came into the 
Pottawatomie trail at Bendena, going on 
home that night. On June ID, we hitched 
three yoke of oxen to a wagon, stuck in 
a plow and struck out for Wolf river; 
arrived there without adventui-e^; broke 
one acre of sod on each of our claims and 
planted corn and melons. We peeled 
elm bark ior a roof on Chase's pole cabin 
and cut large logs and started a founda- 
tion for my cabin. We left our names 
carved in various places, mine on the top 
of the logs of the cabin. Strange, but 
we had selected claims about one and a 



GKAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



167 



half apart. On my claim was a beauti- 
ful grove of timber on rather high ground 
and from my enduring signs left, I am 
told that it was known for years after- 
wards as Gibbins' grove. We left for 
Missouri about the 25th of June and 
camped at Cottonwood Springs, (Hugh 
Finklea's) near Troy. The next morn- 
ing we were in no particular hurry to 
start, wishing our cattle to graze well, 
and we had not hitched up yet, when 
four men rode up on horses, each carry- 
ing a rail on his shoulder. Seeing they 
were much concerned at our presence and 
guessing that they meant to stake claims 
right there, we asked them where they 
were bound. The leader replied that 
they had reached their destinat ion. We, of 
course, made them believe that we had 
preceded them and run the joke as far as 
we liked, when we told them we had been 
out on Wolf river and staked out claims. 
This leader was a lawyer of St. Joseph, 
afterward Gov. R. M. Stewart of Mis- 
souri. He addressed me, asking my name 



and where I lived. He had been over a 
day or two before and selected this spot 
for a claim and was coming back to lay a 
foundation with the four rails, the other 
three men coming along to carry the rails 
and look at the country and perhaps seek 
locations for themselves. I never learned 
their names nor saw them afterwards that 
I know of. Stewart said he would give 
us $10 if we would break out an acre of 
sod for him. We took his offer and he 
threw a $10 gold piece to me, saying, 
"I do not want to wait here until you 
finish the plowing. I know if you are 
Dick Gibbins' son, you'll plow it." He 
turned and rode away. We broke out 
the acre and returned home the next day. 
I am confident this was the first claim in 
Doniphan county and, not counting what 
people were at the Highland agency and 
Mr. Harding at Wathena, who had set- 
tled as Indian traders before the country 
was opened, I broke the first furrow in 
what is now Doniphan county." 



CHAPTER XIV. 



COHCLUPTHG HOTeS AHP> SKSTCHeS. 



The Doniphan Bandits. 

Ou Saturday evening, October 21, 
1899, Mr. Kuchs looked at his clock and 
decided to go to the postoffice for his 
mail. He was alone in the store and was 
in the act of locking the front door, 
when his attention was attracted by a 
noise behind him. Turning he looked 
down the barrels of two rides. "We 
want your money", said one of two 
masked men. Mr. Kuchs, realizing his 
position, said, "Well, all right", and led 
the way to the money drawer, the rob- 
bers following him closely, one behind 
and one in front of the counter. There 
were only about fiV.OO in the money 
drawer, and this did not satisfy them. 
They made Kuchs turn his pockets inside 
out, and then asked to be shown the safe. 
The safe contained nothing but papers. 



and Mr. Kuchs unlocked the drawers and 
set them out for examination. 

When the robbers marched Mr. Kuchs 
into the store at the points of their rifles, 
Calvin, a colored man, happened to be 
passing, and taking in the situation he 
hastened to the postoffice and gave the 
alarm . 

John Bi'aun, aged 23, son of Postmas- 
ter Anton Braun, got a revolver and 
went directly to Kuchs' store, while John 
Schaflf went across the street to Schnell's 
to borrovs' a shot gun. Reaching the 
front door of the store, revolver in hand, 
John Braun called out to the robbers, 
who were back at the safe, and asked, 
"What are yOu doing here"? One of 
the robbers replied, "What business is it 
of yours"? With that both the robbers 
raised their rifles and tired. The first 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



159 



shot struck Braun over the left eye and 
he fell dead upon the sidewalk. Mr. 
Kuchs had a small revolver in his hip 
pocket, which he had put there on Fri- 
day night, after an attempt had been 
made to burglarize his store, and when 
the men turned their backs to him he 
tried to pull his gun, but it caught in his 
pocket. While tugging away, one of the 
robbers noticed him and asked, "Have 
you got a gun?" "No, sir", replied Mr. 
Kuchs, and both his hands went up. 

The robbei's did not take time for fur- 
ther examination, but rushed out of the 
building. The crowd of boys that stood 
at the window when Braun was shot, 
commenced to gather again and the rob- 
bers began a promiscuous fire to scare 
the crowd and keep it back. John Schaff, 
who had come up with Schnell's shotgun, 
was secreted behind the corner of Kuchs' 
warehouse. He saw Braun fall and as 
the desperadoes came out of the door, he 
shot at one of them, wounding him seri- 
ously. The primer of the shell in the 
other barrel of the gun refused to fire. 
The other robber picked up his wounded 
comrade and carried him across the street, 
where he cut off the handkerchief mask. 
It was found saturated with blood. The 
robber's hat, a light brown Derby, also 
saturated with blood, was found in the 
same place. One shot entered the hat 
and evidently lodged in the robber's head. 
There was part of a tooth in the handker- 
chief, indicating that the charge had 
struck him in the side of the face. A 
copy of the Atchison Globe and a St. 
Joseph paper lay beside the hat and hand- 
kerchief, but the name on the papers had 



been torn off. The wounded robber rest- 
ed here only a few minutes. His partner 
stayed beside him, taking an occasional 
shot, that cleared the streets. The rob- 
bers fled south toward the Doniphan lake, 
and the thickets on the bar. 

Mr. Kuchs received a flesh wound on 
the arm during the shooting. Stooping 
low beside the window he was watching 
for a shot. The robber evidently saw 
his head, for he sent two bullets through 
the woodwork, one of which made the 
wound. 

Sunday morning. Chief of Police 
Seip, Sheriff Hartman and Ofticer Dicker- 
son, of Atchison, Joined the Doniphan 
county ofticers in the search. By the 
middle of Sunday afternoon fully a thous- 
and people were on the island, less than a 
hundred of whom were doing anything 
to help the officers. About four o'clock 
in the afternoon a pair of bloodhounds 
arrived from Atchison. These were giv- 
en the trail but could trace them no far- 
ther than the ofticers. About five 
o'clock a young man ran onto the log 
behind which the robbers lay. A gun 
was pulled on him and he ran back to 
where the ofticers were trying to get the 
dogs to take the trail. Charles James 
and two or three others ran in the direc- 
tion whence the boy had come and in 
less time than it takes to tell it they were 
tack again, young James having received 
a bullet through his arm. Sheriff Larze- 
lere, Eli Cromwell, Ofticer Dickerson, 
and half a dozen others had advanced, 
Sherift' J^arzelere, Eli Cromwell and Ofti- 
cer Dickerson in the lead about twelve 
feet apart. They had gone but a short 



160 



GRAY'S DOMPHAN COUKTY HISTORY 



distance when Officer Dickerson ad- 
dressed Sheriff Larzelere: "Is that a log?" 
Instantly there was a shot and the Atchi- 
son officer fell forward with a bullet hole 
through his head. Eli Cromwell tired 
two loads of buck shot in the direction 
from which the shot came. Sheriff Lar- 
zelere picked up the rifle dropped by 
Dickerson and took a shot as nearly as 
possible at the point from which the rob- 
bers tired the bullet that killed the police 
officer. He half turned to ask Us fellow 
officers to deploy on his right and left, 
and found that he was alone. Believing 
that the robbers could see him and know- 
ing that they were less than forty feet 
away out of sight, the sheriff discreetly 
went back to wliere the Atchison officers 
had stopped. He then asked for volun- 
teers to go with him to surround the rob- 
bers. Under Sheriff Ramsey, Mace Gulp 
and a man from Atchison were the only 
cues who would take the risk. Sheriff 
Hartman and Chief of Police Seip of 
Atchison, both declared they would not 
risk their lives before so nervy desper- 
adoes. 

There was nothing to do but to try to 
hold the robbers at bay till more nervy 
men and better tire arms could be secured. 
News of Officer Dickerson's death was 
sent to Atchison. County Attorney 
Cromwell at once secured all the weapons 
in the hardware store, and some forty 
men were armed and sent up on a Bur- 
lington special. The killing of Officer 
Dickerson bluffed the crowd which fell 
back half a mile, leaving but half a doz- 
en to guard the place. When the Atchi- 
son armed men arrived they formed in 



line, ten feet apart, and went in to re- 
cover Dickerson's body, which they did. 
No sound came from the log and it was 
soon discovered that the robbers had fled. 
The body of the police officer was tak- 
en to Atchison in an ambulance. 



Weather Dates. 

The first snow of the winter of 1898-9 
came October 17. Then it snowed as fol- 
lows: Second snow, November 9; third 
snow, November 21; fourth snow, No- 
vember 25; fifth snow, December 3 — it 
snowed all that day; sixth snow Decem- 
ber 11; seventh snow, January 5, at night; 
eighth snow, January 8; ninth snow, 
January 23; tenth snow, January 26; 
eleventh snow, January 28; twelfth snow, 
January 30; thirteenth snow, February 2; 
fourteenth snow, February 6; fifteentli 
snow, February 10; sixteenth snow, Feb- 
ruary 22; seventeenth snow; February 26; 
eighteenth snow, March 3; nineteenth 
snow, March 5; twentieth snow, March 
11; twenty-first snow, March 23; twenty- 
second snow, March 26; twenty -third 
snow, March 2*7; twenty-fourth snow, 
March 30; twenty-fifth snow, March 31; 
twenty-sixth snow, April 3. These are 
not counting flurries of snow, only those 
that covered the ground with a white 
mantle. 



Wolf River. 

For many years Wolf River had been 
pursuing an erratic course, overflowing 
its banks, taking short cuts across rich 
bottom lands and meadows and destroy- 
ing crops and property. Steps have at 



INDEX 



Part I. 

Brenner, 18. 
Bendena, 56. 

Center Township, 65. 

Doniphan, 12. 
Denton, 63. 

Elwood, 23. 
Fanning, 39. 
Geary City, 20. ' 

Highland, 38. 
Highland Station, 33. 

Iowa Point, 32. 
Iowa Township, 29. 
Leona, 54. 
Norway, 51. 
Purcell, 64. 
Poets and Poetry, 73. 
Severance, 45. 
Stray Notes — 

Government Train — County Artists 
— Morley's Bank — Early Baptist 
Minister — Grand-daughter of Char- 
boneau, 71. 
Troy, 66. 

Union Township, 62. 
Wayne Township, 11. 
Washington Township, 22. 
Wathena, 25. 
White Cloud, 35. 
Wolf River Township, 40. 



Part II. 

Aboriginal Inhabitants, 27. 

Atchison & Nebraska Railroad, 119. 

Broken Bank, 116. 

Boy's Adventure, 115. 

Base Ball Game, 108. 

Brave Girl, 54. 

Boys of Kansas, 56. 

Coronado, 1. 

County Histories, 22. 

Columbus Seminary, 33. 

Cheyenne Massacre, 129. 

Church History, 164. 

Court House Fire, 51. 

Colonel A. G. Ege, 125. 

Colonel D. L. Payne, 126. 

Clever with Gun and Pistol, 128. 

Doniphan County Golgotha, 45. 

Doniphan City, 66. 

Doniphan Bandits, 158. 

Doniphan County, 12. 

Drouth of 1860, 36. 

Early Reminiscences, 155. 

Early Elwood, 46. 

Fate of the Jayhawkers, 64. 

Freeman Tragedy, 162. 

General Doniphan, 12. 

Golden Opportunity, 25. 

Grasshoppei's, 72. 

Grange, 107. 

Great Sleet, 107. 

Hail Storm, 40. 



Indian History, 7. 

Indian Relics, ilO. 

Indians at the Fair, 115. 

Is Your Teacher's Name Here? 128. 

Joel Ryan, 117. 

Kansas, 52. 

Kansas Indians, 142. 

Kaws on the Missouri (1724), 148. 

Laura Nation, 114. 

Lewis Tracy, 114. 

Lost in a Snow Storm, 39. 

Major Daniel Vanderslice, 41. 

Melvin Baughn, 59. 

Mrs. L. M. Blackford, 139. 

Newspaper History, 81. 

Nutshell History, 85. 

Oldest Kansans, 137. 

Orange Blossoms (1875), 111. 

Pure Fiction, 26. 

Pony Express, 19. 

Perilous Ride, 35. 

Prehistoric Race, 58. 

Platte Purchase, 5. 

Quantrell, the Peddler, 161. 



Reminiscence, 135. 

Rain and Flood, 128. 

Redpath and Lane, 37. 

River Towns (1859), 43. 

Romantic Elopement, 50. 

St. Joseph and Elwood Bridge, 53. 

Shooting of Wilson, 55. 

St. Josepli & Topeka Railway, 73. 

Some First Things, 15. 

St. Valentine's Day (1863). 38. 

St. Benedict's Parish, 120. 

St. Joseph & Denver Railway Bond, 124. 

St. Joseph & Grand Island Railway, 130. 

St. Joseph's First Boomer, 138. 

Some Early Birds, 140. 

Squaw's Trail, 140. 

'J'owns of the Past, 23. 

Thomas Jefferson Southerland, 34. 

Tales of Tragedy, 74. 

Water Courses, 18. 

Wind Storms, 112. 

Wathena Berry Gardens, 124. 

W^eather Dates, 160. 

Wolf River, 160. 

Young Girl's Adventure, 134. 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY 



163 



the west door, on the north side of the 
house, Mrs. Freeman met him. She 
said, 'Floyd, let's go to town', speaking 
to the child about two and a half years 
old. Mr. Freeman said, 'I am tired liv- 
ing in dirt'. She did not reply to hira 
that I heard. Mr. Freeman went into 
the house and in about three minutes the 
shooting began. This was the last time 
1 saw Mrs. Freeman alive. When we 
went into the last room Mrs. Freeman 
was sitting in the southeast corner of the 
room in a rocking chair. She was <lead 
and her head was hanging almost to the 
floor. There was a great deal of blood 
in the room. I saw her child lying dead 
about three feet north of Mrs. Freeman. 
I saw a pistol shot wound on Mrs. Free- 
man's head, and also saw that the child 
was very bloody. I also saw Mr. Free- 
man lying on the floor three or four feet 
from Mrs. Freeman's body. He was not 
dead. He did not speak. He was un- 
conscious. He was lying in a mass of 
blood. 1 saw a revolver lying between 
his legs. It looked like a 38-calibre re- 
volver. I never heard Mr. Freeman and 
his wife quarrelling. I didn't see any- 
one about Mr. Freeman's house at the 
time of the shooting. I do not know 
who killed Mrs. Freeman and her child. 
I was in the front yard and could have 
seen anyone coming to the house and 
leaving it. I don't think Mr. Freeman 
was under the influence of liquor. I 
think to the best of my knowledge and 
belief that Samuel Freeman killed his 
wife and child." 

Dr. C. F. McCormick, being called, 
testified as follows: 

"This evening about 8:30 I was called 
to the residence of Samuel Freeman. I 



found Mrs. Freeman in the rocking chair, 
dead, her head hanging about six inches 
from the floor. I found a gun shot 
wound in the head entering back of the 
right ear and coming out about the fore- 
head on the left side of the head. I think 
this would be sutticient cause for instant 
death. I also saw. a little boy on the 
floor, dead. He was lying three or four 
feet from his mother in the same room. 
I saw a gun shot wound in the top of his 
head the bullet coming out on the left 
side of his face, fracturing the left in- 
ferior maxillary bone. I saw Samuel 
Freeman lying near the door with a gun 
shot wound on his- right temple and also 
on the top of his head. He was living 
but unconscious. The brain was oozing 
out of the top wound. I think it ex- 
tremely doubtful if he will recover. I 
do not know the cause of the shooting." 

The following jurors found "that 
Samuel Freeman shot and killed Ellen 
Freeman and Floyd Freeman with a 38- 
calibre Smith & Wesson revolver in the 
hands of Samuel Freeman, on the 4th 
day of August, 1891." 

Geo. H. Robb, foreman; Thos. Fry, 
R. G. Drake, Ed. Heeney, J. D. Gil- 
more, C. H. Courtin. 

It was afterwards discovered that Mrs. 
Freeman was in the act of writing a let- 
ter when she received her death wound. 
A copy of the unfinished letter is here 
given: 

"Severance, Kansas, Aug. 4, 1891. 
Mr. J. B. Williams, 

My dear father: — The mail train came 
in from the east last night at 8:30, bring- 
ing me your card, and after reading it 



164 



GRArS DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



three times I immediately took a 'bee 
line' lor the express office to see if there 
might be anything for me, and sure 
enough the agent says, 'Yes, there is a 
basket for you, just arrived on the last 
train, and from the way it smells I should 
judge it contains something pretty good'; 
and I agree with him entirely. The 
peaches and grapes were both well pre- 
served to have traveled so far. The 
crab-apple was a little worse for the trip, 
but we ate it all the same. We ate them 
all till we didn't dare to eat any more 
last night. They tasted so good. We 
have some of the grapes yet, but the 
peaches and crab-apples are all gone. Mr. 
Freeman carried one of the peaches all 
over town this morning, showing it to 
all of the people. Everybody says they 
were tine. You cannot know how much 
I thank you for them. We are all well. 
The weather is very good at present." 

This is all she had written, and to 
judge from the appearance of the last 
few words, they had been written under 
excitement, the letters being hastily and 
unevenly formed. She must have been 
writing on a board in her lap. The let- 
ter was found lying by the side of the 
chair in which she was found dead. She 
was dressed ready to go up town with 
Miss Hutchison who had promised to call 
for her, and no doubt was making haste 
to get the letter tinished. 

Freeman never gained consciousness 
after the sht>oting, but lay groaning until 
about 2 o'clock in the afternoon of the 
next day, when he died. Among the 
dozens of things that were said concern- 
ing the cause of the quarrel and the shoot- 



ing, there was little truth and much 
fancy. It was known that he was of a 
jealous disposition, and that he was pos- 
sessed of quick and uncontrolable tem- 
per. The shooting was witnessed by no 
one. The woman was Freeman's second 
wife, and they had been married only a 
few years. 



Church History. 

A brief list of religious organizations 
of the county, giving date and place of 
organizing, is here given: 

1842 

Presbyterian church at Highland, or- 
ganized as a Mission, with seven mem- 
bers. Meetings were held in the Uni- 
versity chapel. 
1855 

Smithton M. E. church, organized 
August 1, by Rev. Hiram Burch, pastor 
in charge, and Wm. H. Good, presiding 
elder. 

Palermo M. E. church organized with 
the following members: John J. Ander- 
son, Nancy J. Anderson, John Hays, 
Elizabeth Hays, Mary A. W^akeman and 
Jane Brazelton. 

Doniphan Catholic church organized 
by Rev. Father Henry Lemke, O. S. B. 

1856 
Doniphan M. E. church, South, organ- 
ized by Rev. Wallace. First services 
were held in the hotel. 

1857 
Doniphan M. E. church, organized 
May 10, by Rev. B. F. Bowman. There 
were tive members — James W. Snow, 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



165 



Rebecca Snow, Joseph McCrum, Melissa 
McCrum and Hanna McCrum. 

Geary City M. E. church, organized 
early in the spring, by Rev. James Shaw. 

Highland M. E. church, organized in 
March, by Rev. Dana Fox. The Seavers, 
Grahams, Bonesteels and the Dougtys, 
were members. 

White Cloud M. E. church, organized 
by A. L. Douney. The members num- 
bered about thirty. 

Brush Creek M. E. church, organized; 
name of tirst organizer unknown. In 
1865, Rev. G. R. Houts reorganized and 
built a church. 
1858 

Oakland M. E. church, organized in 
the spring, by Rev. T. McK. Munhall. 
This was called Independence. Rev. 
A. Bennett, Rachael Bennett, Celinda 
Bennett, Francis A. Baker, Caroline 
Shaw, Diantha Edgerton, Jacob Smith, 
Rachael Smith, Moriah Smith, William 
Smith and Matilda Adams, members. 

Wathena M. E. church, organized dur- 
ing the summer, by Rev. T. McK. Mun- 
hall. 

Wathena Baptist church, organized in 
June, by Elder William Price and Rev. 
E. Alward, with eight members. 
1859 

Troy M. E. church, organized June 
26, by Rev. B. F. Bowman. 

Bellemont M. E. church, South, or- 
ganized. Two of the first members were 
Mesdames Creal and Bryant. 

St. Mary's Catholic church, organized 
by the Benedictine Fathers of the Atchi- 



son Abbey. There were nine families in 
the congregation. 

Troy Episcopal church, organized by 
Reverend Ryan. 
1862 

St. Benedict's Catholic church, organ- 
ized by Rev. Father Thomas Bartl. A 
large stone church was erected. 
1865 

Troy Presbyterian church, organized 
by the Reverend Sheldon, with fifteen 
members. 

Highland Congregational church, or- 
ganized October 5, by H. P. Robinson, 
with fifteen members. 
1867 

White Cloud Congregational church, 
organized May 25, by Rev. H. P. Robin- 
son, with eleven members. A church, 
costing $3,200, was erected. 

Wathena German Society M. E. church, 
organized in October, by H. M. Meniger. 
1868 

Ridge Prairie M. E. church, in Union 
township, organized during the winter, 
by Rev. A. Bennett. 

Burr-Oak German Society M. E. church, 
(Sec. 29, town 2, range 22), organized by 
Rev. H. Meyer. 

Center Township, German Society M. 
E. church, (Sec. 26, town 3, range 21), 
organized by Rev. H. Meyer. 

German Reformed Zion's church, (Sec. 
33, town 2, range 22), organized by Rev. 
John Biery. 
1869 

Wathena Catholic church, organized 
by Rev. Father Thomas Bartl, with a 



166 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



membership of one hundred. A brick 
church, costing $5,500, was erected. 

1871 
Wayne township Norwegian Lutheran 
church, organized by Rev. Mr. Brown. 
A $300 church was erected. 

Severance M. E. church organized Jan- 
uary 25, by Reverend W..K. Marshall 
presiding elder, and Rev. B. F. Bowman 
pastor in charge. There were nine mem- 
bers . 

1873 
East Norway Baptist church organized 
by Rev. A. Bennett. 

Wathena Second Colored Baptist chui-ch 
organized September 22, by Reverends 
Lee, Bourn, Williams, Olarkson and 
Jackson. 

1876 
White Cloud Colored Baptist church 
organized by Rev. J. H. Strawther. 

1877 
Independence Creek Baptist church or- 
ganized in the early sixties, reorganized 
by Rev. D. G. Saunders. 

1879 
Fanning St. James' Catholic church or- 



ganized by Rev. L. Shriner, O. S. B. A 
church costing $1,300 was erected. 

1880 
Leona Baptist church organized in Oc- 
tober by Rev. Aylward, with eightmem- 
bers. 

Troy St. Charles' Catholic church or- 
ganized by Rev. Father J. H. Timphaus. 
A building costing $1,000 was erected. 

Severance St. Vincent de Paul's Catho- 
lic church was built by Father Permin 
M. Koumly. 

1884 
East Norway Lutheran church organiz- 
ed by Rev. Dr. Martin. A tine large 
church was built. 

1893 
Severance Christian church organized 
by Rev. J. H. Speer. The school house 
was bought and refitted for use. 

* t * 

It is impossible to get the dates of or- 
ganizing of all the county's churches, be- 
cause in many cases no records have been 
kept and the ministers who organized the 
congregations cannot now be located. 



GRAY'S DOIS'IPIIAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



161 



last been taken to remedy these evils by 
straightening the river's channel. The 
following items concerning this under- 
taking are from the County Commission- 
ers' report. 

The cost of changing the Wolf river 
channel will be 143,085.66. 

The total present length of Wolf river 
from the Missouri river to the west line 
of Doniphan county, is 32 15-100 miles. 

Total length of Wolf river from the 
Missouri river to the west line of Doni- 
phan county, as now located, 17 miles 
and 4,146 feet. 

The difference between the present 
length of river and as now located, 14 
and 37-100 miles. 

Total distance o f excavations by 
changes, 8 and 21-100 miles. 

Total number of acres overflowed by 
Wolf river in Doniphan county, is 
3,293 54-100. Rate per acre, 113.38. 



Qnantrell, the Peddler. 

A little girl living in Doniphan county 
once showed me a tine time-piece saying, 
"Here's the watch, but Quantrell has the 
chain; mamma will tell you about it." 

"We were staying at the Eldridge 
House", the lady said, "and my nerves 
had been keyed up, hearing rumors that 
the town was to be burned, until every 
stranger became a spy and every belated 
horseman an army. 

"I was in the parlor one morning with 
a friend, and baby sat on the carpet play- 
ing with my watch, when her arm be- 
came tightly wrapped in the long chain. 
At that moment a peddler called and, 
.asking permission to display his goods, 



swimg the pack from his shoulder and 
sauntered leisurely into the room. See- 
ing a fresh attraction the child attempted 
to free her arm to reach for what she. 
wanted, when the young man, bending 
down, stroked her hair caressingly, un- 
wound the chain, holding the watch in 
his hand as he did so. There was noth- 
ing remarkable in his appearance except 
that he was very young — not over twenty- 
live. He wore the tirst growth of a mus- 
tache, a fringe of reddish hue, and but for 
the prairie tan his face would have been 
as fair as that of any girl. 

"It was the middle of July, and the 
weather during the whole month was op- 
pressively hot, and as our apartment was 
small my husband would sometimes go 
down to the parlor at night while I lay 
awake listening; for we Lawrence women 
were trained listeners, especially at night 
when men slept untroubled by liaunting 
fear. 

' 'One night I heard a sound in the 
distance like the stampede of cattle, and 
running down stairs was about to enter 
the room where my husband lay asleep 
on the sofa, when I saw a strange man at 
the window; but he turned and walked 
away. Then there were two or three 
shots, when 1 awoke my husband. 'For 
God's sake!' he said, drowsily, 'do let 
me sleep. With your sudden alarm and 
this terrific heat 1 haven't slept a whole 
night for a month. The season for prairie 
chicken shooting begins today, and the 
boys are out shooting chickens for break- 
fast, that is all.' Just then shots were 
heard in the basement, and springing 
up he said, 'Mary ', but the word 



162 



GRAY'S DONIPHAN COUNTY HISTORY. 



died on his lips, for he fell at my feet, 
shot by the leader of the band of murder- 
ous men, which was now filling the room. 
It was Quantrell, the peddler. 

"There was no indolent halting in 
Quantrell's manner now, but lithe as a 
panther, the young chief seemed to be in 
a dozen places at the same time, as with 
perfect composure he directed the one- 
sided tight. 

"But about the watch? Well, it was 
in the chamois bag I wore, with some 
other trickets, but the chain had been 
left on baby's pillow. 

"My child and her unconscious father 
were placed in a handcart and, in bare 
feet, clad only for the night, I pushed 
the cart with its precious burden, through 
a rain of bullets, out of town to a spring 
in the ravine, where we stayed until the 
Regulars arrived." 

Professor Quantrell, father of the dis- 
tinguished outlaw, was principal of the 
Union Schools at Canal-Dover, Ohio, for 
sevei'al years, and his son who had been 
nurtured in the Calvanistic faith, often 
read the scripture lesson at devotional exer- 
cise, and upon the death of his father, 
young William was promoted to the posi- 
tion of teacher in the Grammar grade. 

After the Kansas horror, friends of 
the family, hoping to bring a measure of 
peace to the heart of the unhappy moth- 
er, tried to convmce Mrs. Quantrell that 
her son was dead, and years afterward a 
well known gentleman, a member of the 
Fraternity that had cared for the aged 
lady during her declining years, took her 
to Topeka that she might examine for 



herself the State Annals. She was then 
taken to Jackson county, Missouri, to 
meet her son's comrades-in-arm, who 
testified to his death; and at Louisville, 
a plat of ground worn almost as smooth 
as marble was pointed out to her as his 
grave, and when the earth was removed 
and the casket opened, the stricken moth- 
er, seeing a peculiar lap of the teeth, was 
convinced beyond a doubt, that the body 
long since buried there, was indeed that 
of her boy, and she brought away with 
her a lock of brown hair. 

E. McC. h. 



The Freeman Tragedy. 

On the evening of August 4, 1891, 
Samuel Freeman, a resident of Severance, 
shot and killed his wife, his child and 
himself, after a few words of quarrelling 
with his wife. This occurred in Sever- 
ance on what is familiarly known as Ax- 
handle street. The stoi*y of the shooting 
as told by Frank Caudle, one of Free- 
man's near neighbors, is as follows: 

"I heard gun shots this evening about 
7:30, east of my house. I heard four 
shots fired, and a few minutes afterwards 
I learned that the shooting was at Free- 
man's. I went to find the constable, 
Mr. Stirling, but he was out of town, 
and then went after the justice of the 
peace, Mr. Campbell. He came, and 
others, and there was quite a crowd there. 
It was dark and I went and got a lamp. 
It was getting dark when I heard the 
shooting. About five minutes before 
the shooting Mr. Freeman and myself 
were talking near his house, and he went 
to the house with a pail of milk. At 



5$ S 



BENDENA. KANSAS. 



TNCOKFOKATei^ t904. 



CAPITAL, $10,000. 

This Bank is practically a home Jnstitution, and $ 

our policy is to extend to our patrons the very best ac- ^ 

coramodatioDS consistent with sound business methods. y 



i WE ARE FULLY PROTECTED BY BURGLARY p 
'i AND ROBBERY INSURANCE. I 



INTEREST PAID ON TIME DEPOSITS. 



DIRECTORS: 

Walter Zimmerman, J. P. Severin, A. L. Wynkoop, 
A. M. Ricklefs, W. H. Dorn. 

OFFICERS: 

WALTER ZIMMERMAN, President, 

J. P. SEVERIN, Vice President, 

W. M. GILLEN, Cashier. 



x< 



We FurivisK Lett'ers oF Credit, aiv6 6uy aiv(3 sell 
Foreii^a ExcKai\(^e. 



t?. 



S G. L. Stuart. C H. Bowman. 

I hmn & Bowman, 

I GENERAL MERCHANDISE, 
I NOTIONS. HARDWARE. 
STOVES ai\3 TINWARE. 



FROPRIETOFS OF 

WATHENA FRUIT CO., 

SHIPPERS OF NATIVE FRUl'J S, 
WATHeHA. KANSAS. 




TILBUHY 5 SON, 

Bendena, ... Kansas. 



Began Business in 1902 



-0- 



Gei|eral placksi|iUhii|g 

aiid W^agoii l^epairiiig. 



-0- 



MANUFACTURERS OF S 

M WeLL BORING. — w i 

HORSE SHOEING A SPECIALTY. P 



i TI16 ?mw Mm\ LilG Insurance GoiiiDany I 



OF PHILADELPHIA. 



Nearly 60 years of 
honomble dealinii-. 



Established, 1847. 




This is not the pi'-tnre of William Ponn. but of H. C. Hansen, 
the Reliable District Agent for the PSNH /MUTUAL 
LIFS mSURAHCe COMPANY. ^ t^" y^^ars in 
the insurance business. Should you desire any information on 
ANY policy contracts, submit them to me and a full and correct 
explanation will be given FREE. 

Telegraph me at my expense if in a rush. 






I H. C. HANSEN, SEVERANCE. KANS. g 



t;^ 



jime^ lYLWiRD. 



^ 



i 0. C.HflRDY, I 

g «- P S| lJ G G I S T »<« g 

I .ill. AND DEALER IN £ i 

I PURE DRUGS. MEDICINES, PAINTS, % 

I OILS. VARNISHES, TOILET g 

I ARTICLES AND | 

I FANCY GOODS. | 

S FINE IMPORTED AND DOMESTIC CIOARS. S 

g Bendena, .... Kansas. g 

g $ 

x:;j ■ 

i W. J. Edwards, I. E. I. Edwards. 

I EDWARDS BROTHERS, | 

S? BENDENA, .... KANSAS. ^ 

^ — Dealers in — 5^ 

i OUEENSWfll^E. I 

^ " hi 

^ An attractive line of goods at prices that compare favorably g 

ti with city prices. We have something to suit everybody. Step ?X 

% in and you'll find something for your table. We are pleased to t^^ 

$ show our goods and quote you temptingly low pri9'es. ^ 

g BARBER SHOP. Young men wishing to "slick up" for g 

C< Susan Jane Sweetheart can get a smooth shave or a dandy hair sj 

A cut here. Jared is always courteous and smiling is 

I '' 



— Pi'oprietor of the — g 

Big Loaves of the Best Bakers' Bread. z;^ 



rs 



A Agent for the A. B. C. Laundry. Bendena, Kan. t^ 

A : ■■ 4 

I PHYSICIAN ^ ai\a ^ SURGEON, | 

g • S 

g Bendena Kansas. g 

^ Office first door south of Hardy's Drug Store. ^ 

^ . . Special attention paid to diseases of Children. . . § 



t? 



i^ 






Ep- fiEElNfEY, 






I IWPLEIVIENTS i 

" FURNITURE i SEVERANCE, 

KANSAS. 






T. J. FRANGIS, 



—DEALER IN— 
Coal, l-Ui|i^eB-3 Sasli, poorsy pll^jAs, 

AND ALL KINDS OF 

BUILDING MATERIAL. 



OF SEVERANCE, | 

INTRODUCED ^s- | 

Grown and bridfle Work, i 

Which is his SPECIALTY in this County. | 

I He also does other HIGH GRADES of i 

I JPeHTlSTKY, \ 

I Including PORCELAIN INLAYS. i 



% YOlJ have been wearing 

^ our Clothing for 10 years, 

§ and know they are 0. K. 

$ iV^E are still in the busi- 

^ ness. you will find us with 

I both STYLE and QUALITY. 

S? The only exclusive 

I CLOTH16R 

in Doniphan County. 

JAKE KBRSCH, 

Severance, Kansas. 




b. M. BeNNeTT. D. D. S. 
gg THE g SUPERIOR g DENTIST gg 

One of the oldest and best in the County. Ancestors were 
Dentists in Philadelphia. I know I can please you. 
Office at residence. Prompt attention given. 

SEVERANCE . . . KANSAS. 



TI16 Severance News, 



—AND A— K 

WELCOME WEEKLY VISITOR \ 

TO DONIPHAN COUNTY HOMES, AND HOMES I 

OF "FORMERLY^ S" WHO CANNOT KEEP t 

HAPPY HOUSE WITHOUT IT. t 

i 

MRS. HATTIE E. PEELER, Editor and Proprietor. I 



'^ J. M. MoRLEY, Cashier. D. J. Ward, 

I R. W. Morley, 

57 Assistant Cashiers. 

I SEVERANCE, KANSAS. 

i , C{^P!T|^L, $15,000. 

I SlJRFLbS, 6.000. I 

I ... i 

g Conducts a general Banking business in all its branches. ^ 

Domestic and foreign exchange bought and sold. i 

We give prompt attention to collections. ^ 

The best business men deposit their money in a bank. i 

Money deposited with us is beyond the reach of house- t, 

breakers. j 

We loan money on reasonable terras. - t. 

We accord liberal treatment to our depositoi's and pa- K 

trons in general, and endeavor to show our ap- v^ 

preciation of their patronage by an interested. 5 

consideration of their needs. 5 

If you are not dealing with us call and investigate our t. 

methods. s 

A A i. A M. I 



t% 



J. F. Ebeling. H. A. Laverentz. 5 

EBELING & LAYERENTZ, I 

PROPRIETORS OF t 

Sevetai)ce Kollef fills. 

ttlGii P^TeNT. 1900, 
our Pranks. SNOW FLftKe, MW 
Willie FROS^T^^^^^t- 

Always pay highest market price for Wheat, Corn, and 
Oats, and sell Flour at lowest price. Come and see us. 

SeVSKAHCe KANSAS. 



fA 



g \V- t4. Vanfeciblljer, 

I —PROPRIETOR— 

I TUG Grsai Wesisni Livsrii Barn, 

SEVERANCE, KANSAS. 

The most faithful Liveryman in the State. He never 
sleeps with both eyes — always looking out 
for the welfare of his customers. 
PROMPT, RAIN OR SHINE- CHEERFUL AS A LARK 



Office at Residence. 
SEVEHANCE . . . . , KANSAS. 



MISS BELLE ZIMMERMAN, 

III FnSfilONflBL& i MJLbyNER 






Latest Styles in Ladies and Mit>Fes Head wear. A line array | 

of the most artistic designs. Visitors warmly welcomed. ^ 

SEVERANCE, .... KANSAS. ^ 



^^6- 



*7 



i 3 HOUSE i 



H. L. VftNVERTH, 






Whether you are a maii\or a horse, you need a building , ^ 

to live in. A man's house is called a DWELLING while a g 

horse's house bears the humble name of BARN. Now, you p 

know these things, but do you know that — ^ 

BENDENAM? f fIfBFRS KANSAS. J 

Can furnish you all kinds of BUILDING MATERIAL? | 

Brick for foundation and chimney. Lumber for the main ,g 

structure, Sash and Glass for the windows, and Shingles '^ 

for the roof . . . . When you get the house you'll want to ^ 

keep it warm. Easy enough — get COAL— there are three ^ 

or four brands of the best kept on hand, at reasonable prices. ,g 

THlKKme OF BUILJPTHG ? 'l^h^" choose g 

your carpenter, bring him with you and we will take a walk ^ 

through the Lumber^Yard. ''Billy" will make you prices t^ 

that will satisfy you. .i||. .i||. .ill. ^ 



BENDENA, . . • • KANSAS. | 

— Dealer in — ^^ 



SKeif ai|^ Heavy Mar^^Vare, 

PUMPS, TANKS, WINDMILLS, BUGGIES, STOVES, | 

TINWARE, FURNITURE, CUTLERY, ETC. g 

My whole store is tilled with Goods that are Bargains. ^ 

There are more in mv ware room and still mure cumiiig. ^^ 

Young man, MY BUGGIES ARE WIFE V\ INNERS! g 

No lady can resist you if you go dashing up to her door in g 

one of ray STYLISH RIGS. " They are lit for a Queen t(^ $ 

ride in. 5^ 

Agent for the famous RULLnAH WASHING g 

/^ACHIKS — ^ machine that M-ashes clean witliout break- ^^ 

ing your back. g 

You want to make a dollar go as far as possible, don't g 
you? Well, let me show you how. Come in and see me. ' ,^3 

I'm busy, but nev'er too busy for business. g 



i^ 



8iJ^?H:^^x^i1^^»^iX,^^^^H:^^^':^!5i^^^^cr^iJ^H::^^^^^ 



r.!:: r3^:5{5 ^J^KJ« ;i{:J«^ ■^-!5iJ^»^-tK:H~1{K^{KJa^3^3«^5^XH3{K^^ 



t? 



t-A 




Here he is. 



F. 0. LEONHARD, 

Proprietor of the 

POPULAR DRUG STORK 
SEVERANCE, KANSAS. 

A FULL AND COMPLETE 
LINE OF 

PURe DRMG8 

ALWAYS KEPT IN STOCK. 
Prescriptions carefully compounded. 



DO YOLT KNOW THAT— 

F. W. SCHIILTZ, OP WATHBNA, KANSAS, 

Handles all kinds of Tinware, Enameled ware, Pocket Cut- 
lery, Shears, Razors, Step ladders — all kinds and prices, 
Stoves and Pipe. Just give him a call and let him quote 

you prices on the ROUHJ^ OAK FUKHACS or on 
the COLT AC ETYLENE light machine. He will do your 
tin and galvanized iron work, gutters, rooting and spouting 
for you at reasonable prices. 



UPhTOhOATE 

AHP> 

WIDE (I-WfIKE 



THAT'S 

TONY 

scHroepeii, 



It's a pleasure to visit this cozy little store, and a sav- 
ing of money to trade there. You'll find everything new, 
neat there — and cheap in price- — that's where the pleasure 
comes in. Here's another thing: SCHROEDER takes in 
your produce furnished by the cow and the hen — that's 
SCHROEDER, of BENDENA! 



?iHJi3^»iJ^KKHKHHHHHKKKKJ{XKKJiK}^H2{^^ 



I R. e. ftbbeN, M. D.. I 

S ]::? I O I H 1 I ! P i H I A I H i. [K I A I N I S I A I S. | 




DO IT NOW 

Write as a card saying you would like to 
have the EMPIRE CREAM SEPARATOR 
brought to your house for free trial. It 
makes the most dollars U>r yoU: — Costs you 
nothing to try it — Sold for cash or on easy 
payments. E. A. BENSoX, Agt.,Leona, Ks. 





Having finished his work, the Printer shoulders his type j 

and goes his appointed way. If he has done you good, say ^ 

a word of praise for him, and a prayer that his path may be >c 

I comparatively clear of tripping stones and free from lascerat- ^ 

; ing thorns. He has done his humble best, and has had his ^ 

; labors sweetened with the hope of producing a work worthy ? 

; of the patronage he respectfully solicits. Good friends will ^ 

[ readily understand that even a printer is subject to the in- ^ 

\ fluence of error — that he being mortal, made of common ? 

[ clay, can blunder and be mistaken— and if error be discov- ? 

[ ed in these pages, wonder need not arise, for the Creator ^ 

I has made no perfect man, and man has made no perfect book. j 



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